Story Of Heroes
by MysteryFan15
Summary: A terrorist attack leaves one agent in an impossible situation without the support of his team and proves to a city that heroes are still in her midst.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all I want to say thank you very very much to shialuvr222 for being my Beta for this story. :) I'm sure I will need all the help I can get! I so appreciate it. :)**

**And if you are reading this I want to say thank you as well. It may start a little slow but it will definitely get faster in the next chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes - Louis Kossuth<em>**

* * *

><p>Tony dropped his backpack at his desk and sat down as surreptitiously as he could.<p>

"Nice of you to join us DiNozzo."

Ziva smirked as Tony winced.

"Sorry Boss, traffic was pretty bad."

He glanced to his right.

"Hey, McGeek's not here either." He said observing the empty desk and dark computer screen.

Gibbs didn't say anything.

"He had a dentist appointment this morning and he had to take his typewriter to the shop as well." Ziva offered.

"Oh no! McWriter can't be without his typewriter!" Tony said in mock horror.

"I believe he will somehow manage" Ziva said still smiling.

"No" Tony said shaking his head, "you are mistaken Probationary Agent David. McTense uses the machine to unwind."

"So?"

"This week is the week we have to go to the shooting range to re-qualify. He's going to be wound pretty tight."

"Yes, but-"

"If you two don't have enough work to do I'm sure I could solve that problem."

"Working Boss."

Gibbs looked at Ziva.

"What? I did not start this."

He continued to stare until she sighed and looked down. The ringing phone caused Gibbs to cut his attention short.

"Yeah, Gibbs. Uh-huh."

"Grab you gear," he said hanging up. "Dead SEAL, Anacostia."

"Ah, that's pretty close. I bet even Autopsy Gremlin won't get lost going to this one." Tony said on his way to the elevator.

_Twack_

"Thank you Boss."

* * *

><p>McGee sighed as he sat waiting for the train. He looked at his watch for the thousands time. The day was not getting off to a great start. The visit to the dentist …well. He had never looked forward to going and now apparently he was going to have to make another appointment to have a bad tooth pulled. He dropped his typewriter off at the shop and the tut-tut sound the proprietor had made didn't instill much confidence in his hope of a quick or cheap repair. It was bad enough that his car was in the shop as well, and now the train from Silver Springs was late…<p>

He had considered taking the taxi, but he would have been going in right at peak traffic time. Tim had learned the hard way that at certain periods of the morning sometimes the train was just faster.

The bright side was that he had given himself plenty of leeway with Gibbs. He wasn't sure how long it would take at the dentist but figured if he told Gibbs he would be into the office two hours late that would give him plenty of time. He had a feeling this day would not be good so he was glad he had thought to give himself some wiggle room. He sighed as he heard the Metro train in the distance.

He glanced down the bench silently adding one more tally to the column. This was the third time he had caught the man sharing the bench with him staring. As soon as he made eye contact the stranger would look away and it was starting to unnerve Tim. He just wanted to board the train so he could get away and shake the feeling he was left with.

* * *

><p>As he stepped off the train at Union Station he smiled for the first time that day. Only two miles from the Navy Yard, he could almost walk to work and make it in plenty of time. He glance at the taxi area and then back to a small café. One quick cup of coffee wouldn't hurt; he would get it to go. He got in line in the café and glanced around. He frowned slightly to see the man who had eyed him at the station also walking around looking more than a little nervous. Tim studied him for several minutes before deciding to just get his coffee and go.<p>

"It's not like he can follow me all the way to the Navy Yard." He said ruefully to himself.

"What did you say Mister?" A freckled little girl turned around startling him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, just talking to myself. I didn't realize it was out loud." He said turning slightly red, but giving her a smile.

She smiled back and he could see a few of her teeth missing. Her mother turned around as well and looked at him apologetically before speaking to her daughter.

"Emily honey, remember what I told you. Leave people about their business."

"But Mom, he's talking to himself!" Emily said giggling

Tim laughed out loud as her mother turned red from embarrassment.

"I'm so so sorry, sir."

"Its fine" he reassured her. "I _was_ talking to myself, she's very observant."

"Oh yes" Emily's mother said looking pointedly at her daughter, "she notices _everything."_

Emily looked down a little guilty. Tim half grinned wondering what she had done to earn that reprimand. It reminded him of Sarah and some of the trouble she use to get into when she was young. Emily flashed him one more grin and started to turn around.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion right outside the café. Tim immediately dived on Emily and her mother attempting to get them to the ground, trying to avoid flying glass and good from the shelves.

It seemed like hours before he could pull his thoughts together enough to think. He looked up dazedly to see smoke filling the air. There were screams and cries of pain and fear that seemed to come from everywhere. Another explosion, followed by another could be heard but further away.

Ignoring the searing pain in his arm, Tim struggled to rise when he felt a pressure on his shoulder forcing him down. He felt his gun being removed from his holster sending a fresh rush of adrenaline through him urging him to fight. He finally focused in on a face. The stranger who had been watching him leered over him grinning evilly as he slammed the gun butt into McGee's temple sending him spinning into darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok I hope you guys are proud. I did look at Union Station's website and the train website the make sure everything would match up. There is even a track that runs though Silver Springs, where Tim lives (Yes, I'm a Tim stalker, but I know I'm in good company! lol). However if you know more about DC trains, mass transit, andor Union Station please feel free to share.**

**I also looked up how far Union Station was from the Navy Yard and it is two miles. A lot of the roads were marked "restricted usage road" which I thought was cool, I had never seen it before. I'm such a dork so don't laugh! :)**

**Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you again shialuvr222 for your reviewing of the chapter, I appreciate your help and eye for spelling/grammar. :)**

**Thank you everyone for the reviews. They were so sweet. I am going to reply, but I am moving offices this week at work and it has been crazy…**

**Enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

><p>The scene at Anacostia hadn't been pleasant. Not that murder ever was. The body had been found with the face mangled beyond recognition and the finger tips cut off to avoid easy identification. Fortunately the man who had called it in has lived in a military town long enough to be able to identify the uniform of a Navy SEAL. Ducky slowly straightened up from the body.<p>

"Mr. Palmer I certainly appreciate you getting us here so quickly and without error. Now if you would load our friend we can get back to NCIS with the same haste."

"Yes, Doctor." Jimmy pulling the gurney over to begin final loading.

"How long has he been dead Duck?" Gibbs asked coming up.

"Not longer than 24 hours certainly."

"How?"

"My first guess would be blunt force trauma to the skull. I'll give you a more exact cause when we've had a chance to get acquainted."

Gibb nodded.

"Alright wrap the scene up, let's head back."

As they arrived in the squad room they found the TV blaring, surrounded by agents and NCIS staff.

"What the hell is everyone doing here?" Gibbs asked pushing his way to the front. Tony was shocked when no one even flinched. Gibbs felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to looking into the terrified eyes of a young woman who he remembered to be in the HR department. She nodded her head toward the screen not even able to get a full sentence out.

"Union Station… a bomb…" She stammered out her face pale and her eyes bright with tears.

Gibbs turned and they all stood in shock at the pictures flashing before their eyes. Smoke billowed from the building as people rushed to get away from the fire and dust quickly clouding the sky.

"It's like 9/11 again." someone whispered as the coverage continued.

_At least three bombs were detonated this morning in Union Station. Authorities estimate at least 300 people were in the three story building at that time. The Southwest corner of the building is still intact and likely the only place for survivors. The FBI has made contact with those responsible. They are demanding release of two of their countrymen in return for the release of their hostages. No word yet-_

Gibbs didn't hear anymore as his phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID and sighed as he answered.

"Hey, Abby."

"Gibbs" she said crying. "Have you seen the news?"

"Yeah, watching now." He said sadly

"Gibbs...it's so close, what…why?" She asked, the sound of her tear-filled voice tearing at his heart.

"I don't know Abbs. I don't know." She continued to cry. "Go to autopsy with Ducky. I'll be down there when I can."

"Ok" she said softly. He shut the phone and turned to Tony and Ziva.

"Are we going Boss?" He turned to look at Tony and Ziva. Their anxious faces held more than traces of anger.

"No you're not." Vance said having just arrived to hear the question. "FBI said they could handle it."

Gibbs started at him hard.

"I would think they would want all the backup they could get." Tony said as diplomatically as he could at the moment. It took a superhuman effort on his part.

"You have a case and they want as few people involved as possible. The Director of the Bureau has all the resources they'll need to handle it." He studied the faces for a few more minutes to be sure he would not be contradicted and then turned to leave.

Tony looked at Gibbs with questions in his eyes.

"Boss?"

Gibbs silently watched Vance mount the stairs before turning back to his agents.

"Find out who my SEAL was and what he was doing in Anacostia."

* * *

><p>McGee woke up slowly, his head throbbing in rhythm to his heart beat. As he became more aware he realized that wasn't the only unpleasantness of the situation. Smoke and dust still lingered in the air. He heard crying and whimpers close to him.<p>

"Its ok" he involuntarily whispered, to who he didn't know.

"So you are awake?" A heavily accented voice laughed loudly causing his aching head to pound even more. He turned to another man. "I told you I did not hit him hard."

One silencing look from the second man stopped the laughter immediately. Taller and more serious looking, Tim reasoned he was the leader seeing the other man's reverence of him and his need to justify his action. Tim didn't like the blackness of his eyes as they bore into him and he repressed the urge to shudder.

"Who are you?" Tim asked his throat dry.

The leader turned away effectively ignoring McGee. "You are all hostages of our cause." He said rising his voice to be heard and not mistaken. "If you and your government do exactly as we say then no harm will come to you." Tim looked around and guessed there were about thirty people huddled on the floor, several injured.

"What do you want?" Tim tried again. The man turned back to him with a hard, but calm gaze.

"We want our citizens released. Your government will guarantee two from our organization safe passage to Mexico and then we will release you." His face darkened. "It will not pain me and I will show no hesitation to kill you if things do not go as planned."

He walked away and McGee took the opportunity to assess the situation. The thirty people were of various ages and about a dozen appeared to be injured. One man was lying listlessly on the ground being tended to by a woman who was attempting to hold back her sobs. Several others were being bandaged and two more were leaned again the wall not moving at all. He shifted to look around and the stabbing pain brought his mind back to his own injury.

"Sir?" the soft voice startled him. He looked around to see Emily's mother looking at him nervously. "Your arm…" She indicated as her voice trailed off. He looked down at his right arm and was shocked to see a triangle of glass sticking out.

"I'm a nurse, let me look at it for you."

She scooted closer. Emily was very quiet and Tim sensed that was unusual for her, but he was relieved to see that neither she nor her mother were hurt.

"I'm going to need to take the glass out." she said.

McGee nodded and gritted his teeth.

"I'll just count off to five ok? One, two-"

Suddenly it was out. He jerked a little and looked at her in surprise. She smiled grimly

"I find it's better to pull it out when its least expected."

"Yeah I guess so." He sighed.

She stared deeply in his eyes for a few moments before looking back to his arm.

"Your pupils aren't dilated so you probably don't have a concussion. You're very lucky after the hit you took."

He nodded and she began wrapping his arm with a jacket she had when Emily finally spoke up.

"Why did you have a gun?"

"Emily, this is not the time." Her mother shushed.

"It's fine, ma'am. I'm a federal agent. NCIS, my name is Timothy McGee."

"Oh" she seemed to be considering this, though what she could possibly ponder from it Tim didn't know. It didn't take her long to find her voice again.

"I'm Emily Grace Loudon. This is my mom."

"Sheila" the women said as she smiled weakly finishing her bandaging job.

"Nice to meet you both. Well, before this I mean."

"What's NCIS?" Emily asked tilting her head to the side.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We-"

"No talking." The leader as Tim had christened him yelling coming closer. Tim shut his mouth and decided to put his brain to use instead trying to figure some way for this situation to have a happy ending.

* * *

><p>Special Agent Tobias Fornell rubbed his hand over his eyes, this is not how he wanted to start his day. This is not how he wanted to start any day, this is not how he wanted anyone to ever spend any part of their day. Every minute had gotten worse. He had been called to lead the hostage negotiation. He was thankful some people were alive but that just made it that much more tricky. He knew painfully well, they could work all day, do everything right, walk on eggshell and one blunder could end it all.<p>

The terrorist had sent out a phone to communicate their demands. Fornell felt his heart sink when he realized they were asking for the release of two terrorist it had taken months to apprehend. They were demanding their safe passage to Mexico, only then would the hostages be released.

Fornell was a good hostage negotiator, but each time he felt the toll a little more than the last time. He had a feeling this would not be any better.

"We've want a peace gesture once we have them on a plane." He spoke into the phone.

There was a deep laugh at the end

"What kind of gesture?"

"I want the injured hostages released."

"None of them are injured."

Now it was Fornells turn to laugh.

"You're trying to tell me a bomb went off fifty feet from them and no one is injured. Don't insult my intelligence."

"I wish to talk to them when they are on the plane, then we will see what we can do." The deep voice demanded.

"This is a two way street, you talk to them and I get my hostages, no maybes."

"You are hardly in a position to barter American."

"I hold some chips too, if I didn't then you wouldn't need any hostages now would you?"

A foreign word was spoken over the phone. Fornell didn't understand it, but he was pretty sure it wasn't nice.

"I'll call you when they're on the plane." Fornell said and hung up.

* * *

><p>"What is happening?"<p>

"We may have to change plans a bit, it won't hurt us much and it will ease the mind of the government, lull them into a false peace."

"As long as the brothers get safely to Mexico."

"They will my friend."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading. Please let me know what you think!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you again everyone so much for reading and reviewing. It makes me so happy you guys are enjoying the story. So I realized what I did. I promised more action in the second chapter and I really didn't deliver. Sorry about that. Hopefully this one will be better. (I like it anyway.)**

**Thank you shialuvr222 for helping me out with my spelling and grammar since sometimes I over look things. :)**

* * *

><p><em>A hero is a man who is afraid to run away -English proverb<em>

* * *

><p>Tim could hear the men arguing but he couldn't make out the words. They addressed each other several times so at least now he had a name to call them in his head.<p>

Altair was the one he had dubbed the leader and Habib was the second of their captors. After he had had a chance to study them closer he was shocked to see how young they were. Neither looked over twenty five. At the moment he didn't know it that was bad or good. They were certain to be inexperienced, but it could also make them foolish and dangerous to the innocent civilians they were surrounded with. Habib had a habit of waving his gun around that made Tim nervous. Altair was calmer with his weapon but every now and then he would pan it slowly as if to show everyone that he was certainly in control.

Tim turned his attention back to the girl chatting obliviously beside him. Emily had been talking for a solid hour. He found it amusing and a pleasant distraction and was a little impressed at her lack of fear. At first Habib had attempted to silence her, but seeing she wasn't doing any harm Altair had ordered that he leave her alone. Tim was relieved to see that at least one was cool headed enough to pick his battles wisely.

"My daddy just got transferred here from where he use to work. He said Washington was really really great. Me and mom are sightseeing today since we got most of our stuff unpacked yesterday. We worked forever!" She sighed dramatically and flopped back as though exhausted.

Sheila was very quiet. Tim could see the fear in her eyes. She, unfortunately, was carrying fear for two, herself and her child.

"How old are you Emily?" Tim asked

"Seven and a half." She gave him another toothy grin.

Tim started to answer but looked up when he saw Altair talking on the phone. Tim didn't want to miss any important information he might need. Things didn't seem to be going well for Altair. He spoke harshly and then looked incredulously at the phone. It seemed he had been hung up on and that was the last thing he had expected.

Habib came to talk to him. They spoke for a few minutes before Altair raised his voice.

"Who is injured here?"

There were a few moments of tense silence. Altair became angry.

"Who needs medical attention? I will not ask again!"

A few hands went up cautiously.

"If things go well the injured might leave." Altair said "Only if your government cooperates. They have one hour to allow us to talk to Jad Allah and Kazim."

Tim flinched when he heard those names. He remembered the fear they had caused in Pennsylvania at an airport. The same incident that had resulted in their climb to the top of the FBI's most wanted list. They hadn't been in custody for long and it appeared they were missed desperately.

"Please…" A quiet voice pleaded. "Please, will you let my husband go now?"

A couple, about 50ish had been sitting directly across from Tim. The husband had not moved since the explosion. His wife had been attempting to help him. Shelia went over for a brief time but all his serious head wound would allow was for her to make him more comfortable. Tim had watched her grow more desperate

"No one leaves until we talk to our brothers."

"He's dying, he won't make it!"

"Then your government had better hurry." Altair said harshly.

"He needs doctor. His skull is probably fractured." Sheila said softly but firmly.

"He will leave when we are allowed to talk to them. Not before! There will be no more talking."

Tim's mind started spinning. That they were willing to let hostages go was the best news he had heard all day. Reasoning even negotiating with them might still be possible. Tim looked around at all the frightened faces and knew what he had to do.

_This is my job, what I gave my life for._

He closed his eyes and before his better judgment could get a hold of him he stood up. Habib was by him in an instant.

"Sit down American." He said harshly

"I want to make a deal." He said calmly

Habib sneered

"What kind of deal could you make? We are talking with the FBI outside. Sit down."

"You saw my gun. If you look at my ID you'll see I'm a federal agent. I can deal."

"We are dealing with those outside who have the power. Are you FBI?"

"What is going on here?" Altair said coming up.

"He says he wants to deal."

"We do not deal with our hostages"

Tim took a deep breath.

"Let everyone go and keep me instead."

Habib started laughing and this time Altair joined in.

"Why would I do that?"

"I'm one person, I'm injured." He said indicating his arm. "I would be easy to control. I'm a federal agent. The government will get me back."

Altair smirked. Tim got a little braver.

"You obviously don't have a lot of experience with this."

The butt of the gun quickly connected with the side of his head and for an instant his vision was filled with stars as he dropped to his knees. He heard a muffled shriek behind him.

"Underestimating my power would be a mistake." He heard a voice whisper dangerously to him. "Why do you say that?"

Tim took a deep breath trying to control the throbbing in his head.

"How could you? Are either of you over twenty five? Take me instead, let everyone go and it will be much better for you."

"You think 40 hostages will not do me any good."

"You think a federal agent isn't a valuable hostage? You're willing to let the injured go why not the rest of the civilians. You still get what you want, but without the trouble of a potential riot or uprising. The government will get me back."

"I am tired of listening to him take him back." Altair said turning away

"You're going to have trouble and it will just keep getting worse." Tim said in one last desperate attempt. Altair turned back to Tim.

"Not if I start showing my complete power. What about that little girl?" He said indicating Emily. Sheila pulled the girl close and attempted to shield her.

Tim lowered his voice.

"You don't have to believe anything else I say, but you had better believe this, you might be controlling them now, but it you start shooting children it will go downhill very fast and you will not be able to control the mob you will have on your hands. And if you even lay a finger on her I will personally make sure you never leave this building."

The black eyes stared into him.

"Take him back and make sure and cuff him to something. I don't trust agents."

* * *

><p>"Right, got it." FBI Special Agent Ryan Watkins closed the phone and turned to report to Fornell.<p>

"Agents are waiting on the plane for Disher and Mathis to arrive with Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire."

Fornell nodded. Watkins cleared his throat.

"Ummm…The president is still not sure about this, neither is the director and the press is going crazy, letting two terrorists go…"

Fornell didn't look over.

"If they don't like this tell them to see how the press reacts to forty dead hostages."

He walked away. Watkins shook his head; he knew he should have called in sick this morning.

* * *

><p>Gibbs made his way down to autopsy. He heard the TV before he got there. The doors slide open to reveal Jimmy, Ducky, Abby all huddled around the TV. He cleared his throat and Abby spun around.<p>

"Gibbs!"

She flew into his arms and he held her tight allowing her to cry.

He met Palmer and Ducky's sad eyes over her shoulder.

"Why would someone do this Gibbs?"

"They wanted two terrorists released Abby." He said into her shoulder.

"I know that, but why…?"

He knew exactly what she was asking, why were there even terrorists to begin with.

"I don't know, I wish I did then maybe we could stop it." He pulled away. "Abbs I know your upset but it might help you to work. We still have a killer out there." He said nodding toward the body on Ducky's table. "I need you to find out who it is."

"Could-could McGee come down and help me."

"He still isn't back."

"From where?" she asked panicked. "Oh…dentist. Wait I need him here he can't be out there, there in the world. I need him here!" she said stomping her foot.

"Abby it might be a while if he's caught in that traffic. I'll send him to see you when he gets in."

"But Gibbs-"

"Abby, that's the best I can do."

* * *

><p>Up in the squad room, Tony and Ziva were working quietly with only the TV in the background. Tony looked to his right and picked up his phone. He listened for several minutes to the ringing and sighed when he heard the message greeting.<p>

"Hey McLate, wanted to see where you were keeping yourself. Boss is gonna be mad if your much later." He paused and said more seriously. "Call me when you get this man, ok?"

He looked at Ziva but found she was engrossed in the television.

_The FBI has agreed to release Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire in order to secure the safety of the hostages being held in Union Station. Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire are considered responsible for several attempted terror attacks in the United States._

Ziva shook her head.

"Do they not know how these people work? As soon as those terrorists are free, the hostages will be dead. There is no sense of honor, no obligation. Lives do not matter to them." She said in disgust.

"Human's Ziva, human like to believe in miracles, miracles and happy endings."

"I know that Tony I also wish for happy ending but we must face facts."

"Not necessarily. Didn't you see that movie I told you to about the US hockey team against the Russians…"

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, no!"<p>

The older man's breathing was becoming more labored. Sheila had gone over to him again but nothing she could do was helping. Then he started to convulse. As soon as he settled again his wife was up, a man Tim guessed to be about seventy in an employee uniform attempted to calm her but she yanked away and addressed Altair.

"You have to get him out now. He's going to die right here! Please!"

She was becoming hysterical and it spread to several around her. A younger man to Tim's left saw his opportunity and rushed Habib in an attempt to get his gun. It was a short fight and he was quickly subdued, but another man began moving restlessly as though to join him. Altair whipped his gun around quickly.

"Sit down or she will die!" He said as he hit the woman, she fell to the ground still sobbing.

McGee clenched his jaw as the scene unfolded. He wished he had been able to help the small but ill planned revolution but handcuffed to the chair leg he could do nothing. He looked up and his eyes immediately locked with Altair. McGee held his gaze until Altair looked away. For the first time Tim saw doubt in his dark eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>This was going to be a really short chapter, but then I wanted it longer and wanted the team to be in it, then I wanted to end with Tim…<strong>

**This seems to happened to me frequently (I say that, but I've only written two stories, anyway…) I think something will fit into a chapter and then as I begin to write it takes much longer than I expect. So brace yourself this will not end soon.**

**Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate you taking the time from your day. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope this chapter is ok. Personal stuff has kind of been happening this week that depressed me a little and I find it very hard to write when I am sad so…I hope this chapter turned out ok and to the enjoyment of readers.**

**On the other hand your reviews and story alerts that come to my email inbox provide me with great joy so my sincerest thanks to you all.**

**Thank you shialuvr222 so much for being the beta for this story. I appreciate your help!**

* * *

><p>The potential riot had, if possible, unsettled everyone even more. Habib was more aggressive than ever and even Altair was quick to address any action or sound he might deem threatening. Tim was constantly on the edge and watching Habib, fearing that at any second the man was going to start shooting. Even Emily had quieted and never moved from the safe haven of being tucked beneath her mother's arm against her side.<p>

Altair and Habib engaged in several arguments with each other, gesturing and yelling and once Tim saw them looking his direction. It wasn't long before Habib came over and dragged Tim to his feet shoving him over to Altair.

"You will willingly stay as a hostage? Why?" Altair asked warily, staring at him. Tim hesitated hoping there were no hidden agendas but only for a second before he nodded.

"I will gladly stay as a hostage until your demands are met, if you let the others go. You still have a hostage, but you don't have to worry about something like what almost happened half an hour ago. I would be much easier for you to control and after that last incident I would think that would be something for you to seriously consider." He almost cringed expecting to be hit as Altair's eyes narrowed.

"We cannot." Habib protested. "We need these hostages to free-" Altair held up his hand.

"I _am_ a hostage." Tim said with emphasis wondering how many more times he would have to say it. "The government will get me back. This way you still get your demands met which is what you want and no one gets hurt which is what my government wants."

Altair frowned at him. "The FBI still has not let us talk to Jad Allah or Kazim, they have 20 minutes, then it will not matter about this debate. We will see how I feel when the time comes."

Once again Tim found himself sitting on the floor handcuffed to a chair. He had no idea if he would have any success with what he was attempting. Altair looked like he wanted to believe him, if for no other reason than to avoid a mishap that would spoil their plan; still Tim would only admit to himself that in situations like this forty hostages were better than just one. He hoped he could keep up his confident persona long enough for the civilians to get to safety.

Tim kept an anxious eye on the clock. He observed practically everyone else doing the same thing. Five minutes before the hour was up the phone rang and sense a collective sigh of relief.

* * *

><p>Fornell dialed the number and listened as it was picked up on the first ring.<p>

"You were almost too late American." Altair taunted. Fornell chose to ignore him.

"I'm patching you through now." he said initiating the transfer.

Tim listened to the excitement in Altair's voice as he talked at lightning speed to his friend. He hoped that good mood would transfer over to the favor he hoped for.

Fornell waited impatiently for the conversation to end. Finally his phone rang and Agent Disher informed him their end of the agreement was complete.

"Got it. That plane doesn't leave the ground until I tell it to." He hung up and dialed the all too familiar number again.

"We had a deal." Fornell said as soon as the phone was picked up.

"Yes, we did. We will send out our hostages."

"The injured, all of them." Fornell clarified.

"We will send out who we wish." Altair said coldly.

"Wait, you said-." His protests were met with a sharp click.

"Damn it." He swore closing his eyes. He had known dealing with terrorist that their deciding to renege on their deal was a possibility but he had tried to do everything in his power to avoid that. His stomach churned with dread and fear. Agent Watkins saw the change in mannerism.

"Is everything ok, sir?" he asked nervously.

Fornell turned to Watkins

"Call Disher and make sure he remembers that plane is not to leave the ground until I have the hostages here beside me."

"What's going on?"

"Those two scum in there might reined on their deal."

"Surely they wouldn't be so stupid."

"Let's hope not. I don't want that plane off the ground though until they've met their end of the deal."

* * *

><p>Tony looked for the umpteenth time at his partner's empty desk. He cleared his throat.<p>

"I still can't get a hold of McGee, Boss."

"I'm sure he's fine Tony." The older man said patiently even though he had already answered the question twice before.

"I just don't feel right about it."

"Your gut?" Ziva mocked.

"It's not funny." Tony snapped.

Ziva immediately backed down when she realized she had struck a very sore nerve with her partner.

"I am sorry Tony, I didn't mean-"

"Do you realize what is happening? Do you know what it was like to see the towers come down in 2001, the Pentagon? I had friends in police departments up there who died running into the flames to save people. Nobody knew where anyone was or if they were safe. Do you have any idea what that's like?" He asked harshly

Ziva flushed angrily at every word. "You know nothing about terror attacks Tony. Until you have grown up in Israel with your neighboring countries attacking you from every side you know nothing." She said with bitterness.

"You-"

"Enough!" Gibbs shouted. He had come to stand between their desks. "We have all seen enough, more than enough. This should happen to anyone in any country, ever, period."

He turned to Tony.

"Tony I need you to get your head in the game and think. If McGee were driving from Silver Springs he's probably stuck in God awful traffic that isn't going to let us for hours and maybe longer depending on how long this goes on. All the cell towers are jammed and that's why you can't reach him."

"But Boss-"

"He will call as soon as he can."

Tony nodded slowly. Gibbs gripped his shoulder firmly before heading to Ziva, she didn't not acknowledge him, her eyes down as she studied her desk.

Tony hesitated.

"Ziva?"

She kept staring.

"Ziva I'm sorry, I-I forgot…your sister and everything… I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

She looked up then and he was shocked to see tears in her eyes. She looked first at Tony then at Gibbs and back to Tony.

"Tony, I am now an American also. Even before…my country… wept to see the devastation brought to you September 11th by the enemies we had fought so long. We understood even better than you the horror of it and still we were saddened that the innocence of America was shattered by such a brutal attack like they had never experienced before. For that I am also sorry."

She quickly looked down trying to blink back tears, a battle she lost as Gibbs gently pulled her into a hug. She cried in his arms for a few moments. No one said anything and it wasn't long before the squad room became quiet again each agent lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

><p>"Everyone up!" Habib yelled, there was hesitation when no one moved. Altair raising his gun and the crowd, those that could, scrambled to their feet. Tim observed several hurt too badly to even stand.<p>

Altair began pointing to four men. "You, you, you, and you will help those who cannot get out themselves. Everyone else begin to march to the door"

Their confused and cautious looks told Tim that many people had not heard his earlier conversation with Altair and still assumed that only the injured would be released.

"Unless you would rather stay, then move now!" He yelled raising the gun again and keeping it trained strategically on those he deemed most likely to give him trouble. McGee wasn't sure how they would get out through the rubble but he could see some daylight coming through outside the café so he decided there must be a gap in the wall somewhere.

Those of the group untethered by someone injured began moving quickly as though afraid they would change their mind at any moment.

"Mom, can we leave?" McGee looked at Sheila and Emily. Sheila looked guardedly at the two men but that didn't stop her from whispering comfort to her girl.

"I think so baby. Just hang on to me and be very very quiet."

The next place McGee's eyes fell were across from him. He breathed a sigh of relief. The man who had been in such bad shape not long ago appeared to still be breathing and was being picked up by two of the younger men. McGee hoped it was not too late for him.

His wife was being helped to her feet by the older gentleman who had attempted to comfort her after her breakdown earlier. From his uniform Tim concluded he was a maintenance employee. _Ben _was stitched on the pocket of his shirt. As Ben passed close to Altair he was pushed back. Then Emily was roughly grabbed causing Sheila to cry out and reach for her. Habib's gun stopped her from going too far.

"No, please! What are you doing?"

"Mama!"

"These two will stay along with him." Altair said pointing to Tim.

"Wait-" Tim started as Sheila gasped. Habib kicked him in the gut and he doubled over in pain. Tim could hear Sheila pleading and Emily crying through the haze of pain. Then felt a hand reach into his pocket and take his NCIS ID.

"You only need me." Tim wheezed straightening up.

"We will make sure you do not try to play hero with your life, if decide to gamble it will be with their lives." Altair said.

"No, please, I'll stay, don't keep her. Please, please. She doesn't need to stay, keep me instead." Sheila begged hysterically.

"Shut up!" Altair yelled pulling his hand back as if to slap her. She cringed and he pulled his hand back. Taking the ID from Habib he shoved it into her hands.

"If you want to see your daughter again you will make sure this gets to the proper people. Tell them our demands are still the same." Altair said.

Shelia stayed frozen.

"Move" he said pointing the gun at Emily. "I will not say it again."

"Please…" Sheila pleaded one last time, but this time she was looking directly at Tim. He swallowed and nodded, acknowledging the great charge given to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks again for reading. Please review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, I can't believe how fast this week went by. I posted Chapter 4 on Monday and now it's Friday! Thanks you guys for still sticking with me. This chapter is kind of short and maybe a little different, but I think it is an important transitions.**

**Shialuvr222 thank you so much for reviewing my story. It helps a lot, especially when I get in a hury and make mistakes. :)**

**Enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

><p>Fornell rubbed his aching head. Watkins stood nervously by his side, but breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Ron Sacks arrive at the scene. Sack quickly jogged over to Fornell.<p>

"Sorry I'm late sir."

"Did you get things smoothed over with the director?" Fornell asked without even looking over.

"Umm, he didn't fire you, or me, but that's about as smooth as I could get it." Fornall nodded and Sack couldn't help but notice how much older the man looked than he did even a few hours ago.

"What can I do?" he asked quietly.

"You know the situation?"

"Agent Watkins called me as I was driving over."

Fornell nodded slowly and sighed.

"Prepare a team. If they refuse to release anybody it's safe to assume they're going to kill them anyway. We'll have to try to take them by force."

Sacks turned away and began to dial. A shout from Watkins brought his attention back.

"Look!" He said pointing.

A man cautiously stuck his head around the side of the building, then seeing the FBI sprinted toward them. He was quickly followed by three more people. A few were helping others who appeared to be injured. Agents with vests and shield quickly rushed to them, surrounded them and leading them to safety. Fornell begin to count, thirty seven people came out. His brows went up in surprise to see many of them uninjured.

"What are they trying to pull now?" He muttered to himself.

"Umm sir, some of these people aren't hurt." Watkins observed for everyone. Fornell didn't answer. A shout brought him out of his trance.

"No! I need to talk to whoever is in charge!" A voice cried on the edge of hysterics.

"Ma'am, everything is fine now, we'll take you to the hospital." The paramedic said trying to calm her as he attempted unsuccessfully to lead her to the ambulance.

"No, No, No! My baby is in there!"

Fornell drew in a sharp breath as he headed her way.

"I'll take it from here." He said to the paramedic. He turned to the woman. "I'm in charge, are you hurt?"

She shook her head and grabbed his arms as several tears fell.

"They have my baby." She said as her face contorted in tears. "They kept her…" she whispered collapsing into sobs, Fornell supporting her as she went down.

"What happened?" He asked gently but urgently.

She took a deep shaky breath and hiccupped.

"A-an agent offered himself for a-all of us. They kept him, and a man, and-." She started crying again.

"Your daughter." Fornell said grimly. "How old is she?"

"Seven"

"God…" he heard Sack whisper behind him.

The woman was clutching something tightly in her hand. She indicated Fornell to take it.

"H-here's his ID. I was sent with to prove they have him." She ducked her head and began crying again. Fornell nodded for the paramedic to take her. She immediately came to life again.

"No! I won't leave."

"Ma'am it's not safe here." Watkins said.

"I will not leave this spot until my child is here with me."

"But-"

"No!"

Fornell sighed seeing the determination in her face, knowing he would feel the same way if his daughter were in there.

"You will stay back and you will wear a bullet proof vest and you will do exactly what I tell you or you will be removed Mrs…"

"Loudon. Sheila Loudon"

"Mrs. Loudon, do you understand?"

"Yes, yes sir. Thank you."

He grunted and turned away to open the wallet revealing the unlucky agent who would now be the center of their negotiations, not knowing yet if this agent was stupid or brave.

He opened the case and briefly closed his eyes at seeing the name.

"Crap." He whispered. "I know who's gonna to love this."

"Who is it?" Sacks asked impatiently.

"Your favorite NCIS MCRT team." Fornell said handing the wallet to Sacks before pulling out his cell phone.

* * *

><p>Gibbs looked across the bullpen at McGee's empty desk. He would never admit it to Tony but he was worried too. His gut didn't feel right about the situation. Logically it was very likely McGee was safe albeit very frustrated at being stuck so helplessly in traffic unable to do anything.<p>

_Stop thinking. _He berated himself, he had already told Tony not the worry.

Still he liked to have his agents, his surrogate children, close especially on a day like this. Tony and Ziva were working quietly at their desks and Abby was perched on a stood beside Tony. She had finished all the tests she could run until more evidence came in and at the moment she just wanted to be with the team. Gibbs couldn't say no to her, not today.

Gibbs didn't understand much of what made McGee who he was; computer, science, technology... He understood aspects of him, the loyalty he showed his team, the deep sense of protection he felt for his sister, the creativity he used to solve problems that seemed unsolvable.

Since he and his youngest agent were very different, Gibb had often failed to realize what a comfort it was to have the man sitting in companionable silence across from him. He felt it now and was surprised at how strongly he wished for him to be here, safe, now.

His cell phone ringing broke him out of his trance. Gibbs looked at the caller ID before answering and felt his gut tighten.

"Tobias what can I do for you?"

Everyone in the squad room was immediately alert on hearing the name of Gibbs familiar friend. Word had trickled down from the director that Agent Fornell was handing the negotiations for the FBI.

"Jethro I'm sure you've seen the hostage situation at Union Station." Fornell said tightly which only made Gibbs' gut clench more.

Gibbs glanced back at the TV.

"Yeah we saw it. You need any help down there?"

"I wish it were that simple."

"What's going on?"

"Terrorists planted several bombs, had a café full of hostages. We had just convinced them to let the injured go." Fornell sighed

"But…" Gibbs said prompting him.

"They all started coming out, all the hostages but three. Come to find out a federal Agent was one of those in the café and offered to stay if everyone could go." Gibbs eyes involuntarily slid to the empty desk across from him.

"Who?" He asked quietly.

"I think you already know."

Gibbs closed his eyes shutting out all the possible scenarios he didn't want to imagine. He sighed.

"We'll be right there."

He shut the phone ignoring all the eyes on him. He slide open the drawer to get his gun.

He shut the phone ignoring all the eyes on him as he just sat still for a moment before shaking his head. He slide open the drawer to get his gun.

"Grab your gear."

"The FBI wants our help." Ziva asked doubtfully.

"What's going on Gibbs?" Abby asked.

Gibbs looked at each worried face in turn. He sighed, just saying it would be easier than trying to gently break it, there was no way to be gentle with this news.

"McGee is one of the hostages at Union Station." He said softly. There was perfect silence for about 3 seconds before it all exploded, a chorus of voices drowning each other out.

"What!"

"Gibbs, its Timmy he-."

"What the hell is he doing in-?"

"Stop!" Gibbs yelled before it got out of control. Abby started to cry. Tony began slamming drawers grabbing every clip of ammunition he had and Ziva started collecting her knives.

"What happened Gibbs?" Abby asked tearfully.

Gibbs walked over and wrapped her in a hug.

"Fornell said he was a hostage. He offered to stay himself if the others were allowed to leave. They apparently took him up on that offer." He explained bitterly. Abby started to cry harder into his shoulder. Gibbs looked up into two very worried sets of eyes. Ziva walked over and put her hand on Abby's back.

"We will bring him home Abby. We will."

She nodded.

"Abby…" Gibbs said gently

"Go" she said so softly he almost didn't hear. "Go, the sooner you're gone the sooner you can come back with Timmy."

He kissed her forehead and led her to a chair to sit down. She closed her eyes and didn't open them again until she heard the ding of the elevator.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry there is not actually any Tim in this chapter. I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much (I understand if it bothers you a little). I promise it won't become habit, but several people had asked about the team knowing and I wanted to clear that up.<strong>

**I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Please let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow, thank you guys for all the reviews. I hope the story is keeping you all entertained. This is probably my longest chapter yet. :)**

**Thanks shialuvr222 for so much for your proofreading. I get in a hurry sometimes (ok a lot) and it is nice to have a second set of eyes. :)**

* * *

><p>Emily was crying hysterically as her mother disappeared from sight. She was pushed back toward Tim as she tried to run after her. Tim caught her as she fell and attempted to soothe her. His hug was a little one sided considering his wrist was still cuffed to the chair leg. The other man forced to stay, Ben, looked a little dazed at what had just happened. Tim felt sorry for him until he looked in his eyes and saw that they were strangely peaceful.<p>

"Stop her noise." Habib demanded.

"She's scared." Tim said quietly seething. "You just snatched her from her mother."

"She will have a reason to be afraid if you do not keep her quiet." Habib threatened as Tim glared.

"If you didn't want the noise you should have listened and just kept me."

"You should listen to me. I have told you American, you are in no position to make demands."

Tim sighed and as he pulled her closer.

"Emily, listen to me, it's going to be ok. I'm gonna do my best to get you out of here."

"I want my mom." She whimpered.

"I know you do. I need you to be brave for me ok."

"I'll try."

"Good girl."

Ben scooted closer to the pair and when Habib threw him a look he held up his hands innocently.

"Just wanted to see if I could help the child." He said calmly.

Habib looked uncertain but Altair nodded.

"Hello, I'm Ben." He said with a gentle smile for Emily.

She swallowed her tears as she snuggled into Tim.

"I'm Emily."

"That's a lovely name Emily. How old are you?"

"Seven and a half."

"Seven and a half! You're practically grown."

"Daddy says I'm not allowed to grow up." She said with a shy smile.

Ben laughed.

"I imagine he'd rather you not. I tried very hard for my girls to stay little but one day they went to sleep and when they woke up they were grown ladies. Darndest thing I ever saw."

Emily giggled. Ben smiled ruefully at Tim.

"I'd shake your hand sir but you appear to have them both occupied."

"Yes sir. I guess so." he said looking at Emily. "I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS."

"Ahh yes, the Navy Yard. You were almost home son."

Tim grimaced. "Believe me I know. I'm sorry you got stuck here with me."

"No worries. I understand you tried to execute a trade. They were going to keep the uninjured anyway so I would have been here regardless."

"You seem very…" Tim trailed off now knowing exactly how to put it.

"Yes?" Ben prompted.

"Calm"

"Well Tim it-do you prefer Tim or Timothy?"

Tim smiled. "Tim is fine."

"Tim there's no reason to fear if you have truly lived. My grandmother always use to say you should go to bed each night and sleep peacefully knowing that each day was your best."

Tim started at him overwhelmed with relief. He was acutely aware that of all the hostage, this man was probably the one least likely to do something stupid or rash to not only endanger himself, but Emily and Tim.

"That sounds like good advice sir." Tim said smiling weakly.

"What about you little one? Have you any good advice?" Ben asked turning back to Emily.

She looked up and wrinkled her nose.

"I don't know any advice."

"None at all?" He asked in mock disbelief.

She scrunched her forehead in deep thought.

"Well… my mom told me her granddaddy use to tell her that the only people out at eleven o'clock at night were rouges and thieves, so you shouldn't be out late at night."

Tim and Ben both laughed.

"That probably is sound advice Miss Emily."

Tim was relieved to see her settle down a little, she wasn't pressed so hard into his side anyway. He sighed. That really was the least of his worries though. He still wasn't entirely sure Altair and Habib would keep us their end of the bargain once Jad Allah and Kazim made it to Mexico. They could just as easily kill them. There wasn't much he could do other than wait, wait until a moment presented itself or until he wasn't given any other choice.

* * *

><p>"Gibbs! What's happening? What's going on?" Gibbs moved the phone away from his ear in hopes of keeping his hearing intact.<p>

"Just got here Abbs, don't know anything yet."

"Call me when-"

"I will call you when I know something Abby." He spotted Fornell and Sacks headed toward him and hung up the phone.

"Hey DiNozzo, long time no see." Sacks said.

"Not long enough." Tony replied turning his attention to Fornell.

"What's the situation?" Gibbs asked.

"Terrorists got on a plane one hour ago in Pennsylvania, headed toward Mexico. They should be there in about three hours."

He handed McGee's ID to Gibbs.

"A woman brought that out to us when the hostages were released. The men kept her seven year old daughter. She's pretty frantic, but she won't leave."

"Maybe she could give us the layout of where they were if we need to go in." Tony said.

"We didn't want to risk it. The building is set in such a way that we couldn't sneak up on them. I'm sure it was planned that way when they set off the bombs. Majority of the entrances are closed off or unfeasible to enter. "

"Where is the woman?" Gibbs asked.

"Over here. Names Sheila Loudon."

They rounded the corner and walked to an area a little further from where the FBI had set up. Shiela was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest just staring.

"Mrs. Loudon?" She looked up quickly.

"Yes?"

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs. Timothy McGee is my agent. Could you tell me what happened?"

"We-we were standing in line at the café talking, then the blasts went off. It sounded like two or three. They got Agent McGee's gun. The men started talking about some of the injured hostages being released. When they started saying that Agent McGee tried to talk to them and convince them to keep him instead and…and let us go. They didn't seem to want to listen at first, they made him sit down and handcuffed him to the leg of a chair. Then things started getting out of control, some of the men were almost able to overpower the terrorists. I guess that's when they decided to release most of us."

"Your daughter had to stay?" Gibbs said quietly and was saddened but not surprised to see tears immediately spring into the woman's eyes.

"She's seven, she just a baby."

Gibbs nodded sympathetically knowing all too well exactly what she meant.

"They kept Emily, Agent McGee, and another man. He was wearing a maintenance uniform so I guess he works for the Station." She said sadly.

"Could you see any other ways in or out?" Tony asked.

"No, everything looked as though the blasts had closed them."

"Was McGee injured?" Ziva inquired.

"Not…badly. There was some glass lodged in his arm, but I got it out and wrapped it up. It wasn't bleeding much since it didn't hit an artery and there didn't appear to be any nerve damage. They hit him, but he didn't have a concussion."

Gibbs turned to Fornell.

"I want to talk to McGee."

"They aren't going to like it." Sacks said. Tony glared at him. Gibbs ignored him and never took his eyes off Fornell who looked deep in thought.

"We need to check periodically to make sure everything is fine so we know if we need to stop the plane." Fornell said nodding to Gibbs. "We'll make sure talking to the hostages is part of that arrangement. They called me right after I called you to make sure the plane got off the ground." He looked at his watch. "I guess it's time to check again."

* * *

><p>The phone began to ring and Altair went to answer as Habib kept an eye on their prisoners.<p>

"What?"

"Got someone here who wants to speak to Agent McGee." Fornell said calmly.

"No."

"How do we know they are still alive?"

"They are alive."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. Listen, the only thing that's going to keep that plane moving in the direction of the border is the assurance that your hostages are still in good health. We will be calling every hour to make sure of that fact."

The silence on the other end lasted so long Fornell thought they had lost the connection. Finally Altair spoke.

"I will put the phone on speaker. If there is any attempt to cause problems I will begin to inflict damage."

Fornell handed Gibbs the phone. Tony and Ziva crowded close.

"Hello." The cautious voice of his agent over the phone was the best sound Gibbs had heard all morning.

"McGee"

"Boss." He noted relief in the McGee's voice.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. We all are."

"Just hang on, McGee. You don't have permission to get yourself hurt."

"On it, Boss."

Gibbs almost jumped at the light touch on his shoulder.

"Can I…please…?" Sheila asked timidly. She had come up behind the group and was wringing her hand nervously. Gibbs nodded.

"McGee, tell them the girl's mother wants to talk to her."

"I am not running a phone company." Altair voice came harshly over the phone.

"What have you got to do? Your buddies are on the plane, you've got nothing to do but wait."

They heard the murmur of voices in the background.

"Mommy?" A small voice answered.

Sheila covered her mouth with her hand holding in a sob as she regained her composure.

"Emily honey, are you ok?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Everything's going to be ok baby. It's going to be fine. I'll see you soon. Be good for me."

"Ok Mama."

"Alight it's done." Altair said taking back the phone.

"We'll call every hour to talk to them." Fornell clarified.

"No"

"If I can't verify the hostages are in good condition the government will not be happy letting two terrorists go free."

Gibbs could practically feel the anger coming through the phone before an ice cold voice answered.

"Fine, do as you wish."

All too quickly they were met with the dial tone.

"Now what?" Ziva asked.

"We wait." Gibbs said.

* * *

><p>Ziva hated waiting for something to happen. For a friend to be rescued, she longed to do something, for action. She knew Tony felt the same way. Her brow furrowed. She hadn't seen or heard him for a while now.<p>

She looked around and spotted him leaned against an ambulance staring blankly at the station. She stealthily made her way to him and leaned next to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently

"Yeah." He said his expression never changing.

Ziva was silent, waiting for the moment she knew would come, when Tony would open up and say what was on his mind. He always did. She didn't have to wait long.

"What is he even doing at the train station? I mean like Gibbs said he should be stuck in traffic."

"I know."

Tony didn't say anything else so Ziva ventured forward.

"Perhaps it is best he is in there."

Tony's head whipped around to stare at her.

"What?" He asked in disbelief.

"McGee is a trained federal agent; he will handle it better than the civilians would have. Besides without him there would be many more hostages, yes?"

"I guess so but… "

"This is our job, to protect and serve, correct? McGee is doing that today."

He was silent.

"Tony," she said putting her hand on his arm I want him back just as much as you. "McGee is my friend as well. Or as you would say my bud."

That brought a slight smile to his face as he remembered the conversation he and Ziva had engaged in several years ago when McGee was at the Metro station being questioned after accidently shooting an undercover metro detective. McGee's first kill. His smile slid away.

"He's come a long way since then."

"Yes he has and that is why we must place some trust in him and his decisions."

"I know Zee, I just feel so helpless. There's nothing I can do and I want, I _need_, to do something."

"I feel the same way."

"Stupid terrorist…" He muttered

Ziva looked at him sadly

"You are thinking of Kate."

"Nothing I could do then. We had been partners for two years. I've worked with McGee for seven years. Seven years he sat in that squad room with me. Kate died, Gibbs left, you left, he stayed right there. Always right there."

Ziva didn't know what to say, she realized Tony was talking about more than work he was talking about the one solid fixture in his life, something she knew meant a lot to him after his turbulent childhood and the betrayal of his first partner.

"In a few hours it will be over, the hostages will be released." She said.

Tony snorted. "You said yourself how things go. They're going to kill them anyway, no matter what we do."

"McGee is smart and resourceful; perhaps he can find a way out." She tried.

"Hey!" They looked over to see Gibbs motioning them. It was time for their hourly talk with those inside.

"Yeah." Tony said pushing off the side of the vehicle and heading back to the group. "McGee's going to need every IQ point he has to think his way out of this."

* * *

><p>"What is wrong with you Habib?"<p>

"I cannot believe you let all those hostages go." Habib fumed.

"Our plan could have easily been accomplished with only one."

"Yes, but more are better."

"The American was right, more could have caused problems."

"But-"

"Listen! Do not be distracted. We have much bigger plans than a few worthless hostages. If all goes as planned, if we can only keep the attention here for a little longer the death toll will be in the thousand and the city will be on its knees."

Habib was silent. Altair put a hand on his shoulder.

"We must remain calm until the goal is reached. We are doing are part, we will wait for others to do theirs."

* * *

><p><strong>Uh-oh the plot thickens.<strong>

**On a side personal note, my grandfather did use to say that only people out at night were rouges and thieves. My mom would say ten o'clock was the time, but my uncles told me later it was actually like midnight or one, so I think my mom was trying to keep us in the house…**

**Anyway, hope you guys liked it. Please review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you everyone for reading and the interest shown in the story. I value your time, so thanks for sharing it with me. :)**

**Thank you, shialuvr222 for being beta. I'm sure others appreciate it as well. :)**

* * *

><p><em>Many of the hostages that were being held at Union Station this morning after three bombs were detonated have been released. We're receiving reports that three hostages are still inside, including one federal agent. We have not learned the identity yet of…<em>

A TV had been set up in one of the vehicle to monitor the news coverage, but Gibbs wasn't listening. They had just hung up from their second talk with McGee. Gibbs hated to lose the connection but there was nothing he could do, nothing but wait for an opportunity.

"Two hours until that plane lands in Mexico then hopefully this whole nightmare will be over. " Fornell said drinking the last of his fifth cup of coffee. "Some days I think we're too old for this Gibbs."

Gibbs silently agreed but his ringing phone prevented him from answering. He sighed when he saw the number and flipped it open.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Hey Gibbs, it's Leon, your director. Funny thing happened today. I'm in my office working and I get a call from the director of the FBI. Wanted to let me know they're going to do everything in their power to get our missing agent back, including letting us in on a joint operation. Since this is the first I've heard of a missing NCIS agent you can imagine my surprise. So I walk out of my office to ask you but you're nowhere to be found. I did find Abby crying in her lab. Luckily Ducky was there to explain why. So tell me Gibbs, why the hell am I the last to know?"_

"Happened kind of fast Leon."

"_It happened fast? That's the story?"_

"Yup."

There was silence, then a sigh.

"_Seeing the seriousness of the situation I'll forgo the lecture, for now. At least one senior agent down there thought enough of his director to call. What's the situation?"_

"Three hostages in the station. McGee tried to stay in exchange for all the hostages; they kept him and two more. Talked to McGee, he said they're ok. In two hours the plane with Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire will land in Mexico and then the hostages should be released."

"Should_ being the operative word here. When did we start trusting terrorists?"_

"You got a better plan Leon? There's nothing else we can do. All the entrances are sealed. We're just going to have to wait for an opening."

"_I know Gibbs. I would appreciate it if you would keep me in the loop."_

"I'll do my best Leon."

"_Uh-huh."_

"You didn't call your director did you?" Fornell asked with a smirk as Gibbs hung up.

"Didn't have to, your boss took care of that for me."

"Oh to be a fly on the wall when you get back." He chortled.

"Keep dreaming Tobias."

* * *

><p>Sacks, Tony, and Ziva were standing watching one of the TVs. Sacks shook his head.<p>

"All the agents in the city it could be and it's him."

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked a little defensively. Sack turned to her.

"Face facts, any of us would have a better chance to get out of this mess or not even get in it in the first place."

"What are you saying Sacks?" Tony asked feeling the anger rise in him.

"Come on DiNozzo, no offense, but it's not like he's a super agent. He's your team's computer geek."

Tony got two inches from his face.

"You take that back." He said quietly. Sacks stared at him not saying anything.

"Take it back!" Tony yelled shoving Sacks in the chest.

Immediately Ziva stepped between the pair quickly followed by Gibbs and Fornell who had arrived to hear the last of the argument.

"Take a walk Ron." Fornell said grabbing his arm and propelling him none too gently away from the NCIS team.

Tony was breathing heavily from anger and adrenaline. He couldn't see straight until a slap to the back of his head brought the world back into focus.

"Sorry Boss." He mumbled.

"Tony, we don't need this." Gibbs said seriously. "McGee doesn't need this."

He pointed to the building.

"Our enemy is in there."

"I know, Boss, I know. I just-. What if even after they get to Mexico they-"

"Tony don't. If I see either of you even start to think that, you're gone. Clear?"

"Yes Gibbs."

"Yeah Boss."

* * *

><p>"…so then the station reopened 1988 after it was restored. It was a grand day, lots of excitement." Ben was telling Emily.<p>

"What's restored?" Emily asked her small forehead knit in confusion.

"Remodeled, spruced up."

Tim smiled grateful that Emily had something to take her mind off the whole situation. Ben knew a lot about the station and had been telling Emily some of the more interesting stories of its history.

Tim's mind had been rapidly running through every scenario like a computer processing data. He had been thankful to talk to Gibbs. He knew it was illogical to feel peace about that, Gibbs was out there and they were in here. Still, if anything in the world could be done, Gibbs would do it

"Tim!" Emily put her small hands on his arm. "Mr. Ben's been working here since 1970!"

"Wow, that's quite a while." Tim said.

"Started out sweeping the floors, emptying trash. Moved up to head of maintenance in 1983." Ben said proudly. "I've been part time the last few years. Going to retire at the first of the year."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you. Yup, I know this station inside and out, better than anybody. I can name you every electrical plug, fuse box, and rat hole in this building. Speaking of rats…Emily let me tell you about a time when the Duke of Rochester visited the station..."

* * *

><p>After the incident outside each agent had gone their own way. Tony was sulking as far away from Sacks as he could get and Ziva thought it was best to leave him alone. Gibbs was sitting on the bumper of a car studying the station as if willing it to give up her prisoners. He barely noticed when someone sat down next to him. What he did notice was the coffee offered to him. He took it without a word continuing to stare at the building.<p>

"Jethro…I'm sorry about Sacks. You know how he is, I…"

Gibbs nodded and they both fell silent for a few more minutes until Fornell cleared his throat.

"I want to clarify what I'm about to say by first telling you that I think a lot of McGee, he's a fine agent, but when I first met him... I'll be honest, I didn't think you'd ever turn that green rookie into an agent."

Gibbs allowed himself a small smile. "To be honest I wasn't sure I would either."

Fornell continued. "I tell you that to then say, McGee is strong, resilient. He's tougher than he looks or even acts. I know you know that but, sometimes, when things like this happen it's nice to hear someone outside your own head say it. You turned him into an agent to be proud of."

Gibbs started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Fornell asked a little offended. "None of that was meant to be funny."

Gibbs started to explain.

"Tony was missing, one case we had. He was undercover as a prisoner and he and the other guy escaped. We were hoping he would take us to some stolen artifacts. Tracking devise went screwy and we lost him. The Deputy Secretary of State was very interested in the retrieval this stuff and decided to hound the agency until they were back. McGee was the only one at the office at time, Kate and I were tracking."

"I remember that case." Fornell said nodding. "We almost got it because she didn't like how NCIS was handling it. I don't remember the details, what changed?"

"She kept calling wanting updates, threatening stuff. I finally told McGee to tell her to stick it."

"You told McGee to tell the Deputy Secretary of State to…" Fornell's mouth gaped open.

"Stick it. Yup. I knew he could do it. What I didn't know was how long it would take him to convince himself that he could do it. He called back about an hour later. Told me he'd done it and she was filing a formal complaint."

"Ah yes, it's all coming back now." Fornell chuckled. "She was pissed."

"Oh yeah. That's the day I said to myself. 'I'm not sure how long it's gonna take but this kid is going to be ok.'"

"Jethro, the reason I came over here was to give you a pep talk, but it sounds like you did a pretty good job yourself." Fornell put his hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "We'll get him out."

Gibbs turned to his old friend and nodded. "Yeah, I just hope he's in one piece when we do."

* * *

><p>It seemed to Tim that they had sat for hours. There was nothing for him to do since he was still handcuffed and Habib and Altair kept a close watch on them. It had given him a chance to observe though.<p>

Tim had previously preferred Altair since he was the least rash of the two. He quickly was discovering that though Altair wasn't impulsive, he was cruel and cold. Combine that with intelligence that Habib lacked and that made him the more feared of the two at the present. To make matters worse they both seemed to be becoming more nervous by the minute. His attention was drawn back when he noticed Emily start to squirm.

"What's wrong Emily?"

"Umm…I think I need to go to the bathroom."

"There are restrooms in the back of the café. They should still be intact." Ben offered.

"We'll see how this goes over." Tim muttered.

"Hey" he said raising his voice to get Habib's attention. The man narrowed his eyes and started cautiously over.

"What?"

"She has to go the restroom." He said nodding toward Emily.

"We can't let prisoners leave this area." Habib said with a vicious shake of his head.

"She's seven." Tim snapped. "Where is she going to go?"

"We will not allow it." Habib argued. "We have made too many concessions already."

Altair walked up behind him.

"What is going on?"

"The child needs to use the facilities." Ben said quietly. "Your friend acts like that's an unreasonable request."

Altair didn't say anything but looked back and forth between the four. He knelt to the ground and looked into Emily's eyes.

"You may go, but come back quickly or I will shoot your friends." He said calmly. Emily's eyes seemed to widen to twice their size and fill with tears.

"Hey!" Tim yelled outraged. Habib kicked him causing him to double over in pain.

"There is no reason for the child not to know the consequences of thoughtless actions." Altair said standing up again.

"I'll come back." Emily said softly. "I promise."

"Good girl, come with me." Altair said leading her. Habib shot Tim one last hate filled looked before going back on his patrol.

Ben shook his head. "It's hard to believe people can be so cruel. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you know what's going to happen? I mean how all of this will end?" Ben asked.

"When the plane lands in Mexico, they'll let us go." Tim said never looking at him.

"Do you believe that?"

Tim paused so Ben continued.

"I know you were trying to shield the child and other hostages when they were here, but now… " he smiled grimly. "I'm a big boy. I can take it."

Tim looked him in the eyes.

"Left to their own devices I'm sure they were not planning on letting anyone go, they would much rather kill us. The more dead bodies the better. I'm still looking for an opening, but I haven't seen anything yet."

"We will have to act quickly when the time comes. We've got less than two hours left."

"My boss and my team are outside." Tim said calmly and was surprised to find how much peace and reassurance that brought him. "If something can be done they're the ones to do it."

"I hope you're right."

"Right now, that's all we've got."

* * *

><p><strong>So I had intended this to be short so I could get it done quickly. Obviously that didn't happen. I have been running around this week like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready for a mission trip I am going on this coming week. That said I will probably not be able to write much next week so my next update will not be so soon. :(<strong>

**Thank so much for reading!**

**p.s. This is just a small rant so feel free to ignore. I have been reading some Tony stories and it seems some Tony fan writer (certainly not all of them) have a propensity to make McGee out to be a bad guy. I have not noticed McGee centered stories doing the same, sometimes Tony will act like a jerk, but he always comes around. I personally just want them to get along! Apparently some people don't however. Makes me sad. :( Sorry again, but I was a little baffled by this and thought I would share. I really want to try and write a Tony/Tim brothers story next, so hopefully I will be able to do that when I am done with this story. :)**

**Thanks for reading if you did.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back! The mission trip went well, thank for thinking of me and sending me comments. :) I appreciate them all. I had started out this story by replying to all the comments but now I am sadly behind. :( I will try to catch up but if I don't I want to say I greatly appreciate all the kind words regarding the story and other such things. :)**

**On to Chapter 8…**

* * *

><p>"Agent Gibbs…"<p>

Gibbs looked over his shoulder at the woman who, thought certainly old enough to be the mother of a seven year old, looked very very young at that moment. She stammered on.

"Do you-do you think I'll ever see her again?"

He studied her and opened his mouth to lie, but instead couldn't bring himself to say anything other than what he would want to hear were the situation reversed...the truth.

"I'm not sure."

"Agent McGee…he…he was good with her. I'm glad at least she's with him."

"Tim is a good agent and a better man. I can't promise much else but I promise she is in good hands with him."

Shelia nodded. Gibbs changed the subject.

"You talked to your husband?"

"Yes, one of the agents let me call. We finally got through. He's stuck at his office. The traffic is too bad for him to leave. He-." Her voice hitched. "He was pretty frantic about Emily."

Gibbs nodded sympathetically.

"Yes, Ma'am."

She blushed suddenly.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just talking away. I'll let you get back to your work. I'm so sorry." She turned to leave.

"Hey" Gibbs said softly calling her back. "If you need to talk, then I'm here. Be happy to listen."

She smiled weakly.

"Thank you Agent Gibbs."

* * *

><p>Tim sighed feeling a headache coming on. Emily had not gotten back from the bathroom. Not that he knew what to say to her when she returned, how to keep her spirits up, but he liked to have her close. Ben had fallen silent. He was still calm, but seemed more melancholy than Tim had seen him. Tim cleared his throat and attempted conversation.<p>

"So, you've been here since, 1970? I bet you've met a lot of people coming through here."

Ben laughed.

"Oh yeah, some real characters. The funny thing is, they keep getting younger and younger. Time just keeps going faster. You for instance, I bet you weren't even born in 1970."

Tim smiled.

"No, sir, I wasn't."

"Nope, a lot of the kids I work with now weren't either. Whole world's getting younger. My grandkids are all out of college. I've got two great grandkids. " He said proudly

He stopped with a faraway look in his eyes. Tim waited for him to continue.

"This job was a blessing for me and my family, saved us, or me anyway. Kept us together." He said softly.

"How so?" Tim inquired.

"Well sir, I was at rock bottom, my wife was about to leave me and take my two kids because I was either spending all our money on whisky or calling her to come get me out of the jail."

Tim shifted and turned toward him a little more.

"What changed?"

"Son, many times we get a second chance when we least expect it. When my life looked most bleak I got this offer from an old family friend. Only thing I had to do to get the job was show up sober. Now that doesn't sound like much but for me, at that time, they might as well have told me I had to climb Mount Everest alone. But…I've been clean and sober for 40 years." He said proudly

"Good for you." Tim said sincerely.

"Wasn't me. I tried to fix myself many time, but I just couldn't. The friend who gave this job said he'd been praying for my wife and little children, but mostly for me. That I would realize how much Jesus loved me and wanted to help me. It took a while but He got through my thick head. I'll never forget the look on my wife's face the day I walked in with a bag of groceries instead of whisky."

Tim smiled imagining the glee of a young family who had finally gotten their husband and father back. Ben didn't say anymore and soon they were each too lost in their own thoughts to talk anymore. Several minutes later the quiet was shattered by an ear-splitting scream.

Tim immediately moved to get up, but was quickly reminded he was still handcuffed when he was yanked back. He grunted in pain as he was yanked back. By that time Ben had jumped to his feet and moved toward the cries of distress. He disappeared behind several shelves and the counter. The commotion died down, but picked back up several seconds later. Tim moved as far as he could and strained to see. In a few seconds he didn't have to anymore.

Habib came around the corner and roughly shoved Ben back. Altair wasn't far behind dragging Emily.

"No , no, leave me alone! Let me go! I want my mom!"

"Silence! You will be silent." He yelled pushing her toward Tim.

"Leave her alone." Tim said summoning his best Gibbs glare hoping to get their attention off her.

"Shut up!"

"What right do you have to treat her like that?" Ben asked angrily.

"The little one eavesdrops." Altair said leaning down. "Didn't your parents teach you any better?

Emily didn't answer but scooted to Tim and snuggled closer. He wrapped his arm around her and could feel her trembling. He felt a sudden rush of intense hatred for their captors. What right did they have to scare a child who had done nothing to them?

"It's alright honey." He said gently.

"They-" She glanced at the two men and Tim saw terror in her eyes.

Tim was surprised when they both started laughing.

"Go ahead little one." Altair coaxed. "Tell him what you heard."

"They're going to kill people." She said softly with tears in her eyes.

Tim glared up at Altair when he started laughing again.

"You American's are so stupid. Do you really think we give up so easily? That we would be happy with two of our members released when we could in the progress kill so many of you?"

"You did kill many of us." Tim said quietly. "The bombs that went off in this station easily killed hundreds."

"Yes, the first of many. Except by this time tomorrow, sooner even, it will be thousands!"

"How?" Ben asked.

Altair stopped laughing.

"That is not your concern."

"You might as well tell us." Tim argued. "There's nothing we can do here. I would think you would want to gloat over a plan so great it would kill thousands. You realize the authorities will be looking for more bombs."

"Their attention is focused here." Habib said suddenly. "What we will do will be a complete surprise."

Altair smiled coldly.

"Saxitoxin." He said simply.

Tim's mind whirled back to his science and biomedical classes in college and clicked through the formulas he knew. When his mind settled on the one he was searching for his heart stopped.

"What?" Ben asked confused.

"It's a neurotoxin." Tim said almost too softly to hear. "Very potent and deadly."

"Very good." Habib praised. Tim frowned.

"You'd never be able to attain as much as you need. It's very rare, hard to get. If you bought as much as you would need it would raise red flags all over the place."

"We have scientists who have been able to replicate it very exactly. We have increased what we have by a thousand fold." Habib said smugly.

"How do you plan on using it?" Tim pressed further.

"That is not for you to know, my friend." Altair said suddenly bringing the conversation to a halt. "You will talk to your FBI again soon and for the last time. If you give us any trouble or hint to them in any way, I will kill the girl."

Emily started to sob.

"Stop it!" Tim growled through gritted teeth as he held her closer.

"You're going kill all of us anyway." Ben said bitterly.

Altair looked back and forth between them.

"Man to man I will make a deal."

Tim silently glared as Altair continued wishing that looks could kill.

"Yes I will kill the two of you, but if you both behave for the remainder of the time she will live."

"How do you expect me to trust you?" Tim asked.

"You have no choice my friend, no choice at all." Altair mocked. "There is nothing you can do to stop us, I am offering you a lot, you choose. Does she live or die?"

* * *

><p>"What's their plan Tobias?"<p>

Fornell glanced at him.

"We know their plan. Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire are on a plane to Mexico."

"No, I mean _their _plan." He said nodding to the building. "They just going to walk out quietly after this is all over?"

Fornell didn't say anything.

"Why just surrender and walk out when they could blow up the hostages they have now?"

"I don't know Gibbs." Fornell said rubbing his head. "We don't have a lot of options. I'm doing the best I can with what I have."

"It is never best to deal with terrorists." Ziva said coming up quietly from behind. "It is like the story of the frog and the scorpion, yes? The frog agrees to give the scorpion a ride across the river if the scorpion promises not to sting him. The scorpion insists that there is no reason not to trust him because if the frog dies crossing the river then so does the scorpion. And yet in the middle of the river the frog feels a sharp pain. The scorpion has stung him. The frog demands to know why, seeing as they will now both perish. The scorpion can only say what we already know. He stung because it was his nature. So it is with terrorists; it is their nature to kill and throw order into chaos no matter what they say or promise."

"Agent David, ever with the optimism." Fornell said dryly. "And when did you turn into Dr. Mallard?"

Ziva gave him a look but said simply.

"International terrorism is no place for trust."

She turned to Gibbs.

"We need a plan to get McGee out."

"Working on it Ziva."

"Come on you two, almost time for our last phone call." Fornell said walking to the communication vehicle.

He stopped when Ziva looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just…do not like how that sounds."

"Yeah, me either." Fornell said shaking his head. "Me either."

* * *

><p><strong>Ok you guys might find this amusing. I don't want to give away the story, but…it is hard to look up poisons. I had originally thought about bombs but scratched that because I figured if I started looking up how to make bombs on the internet I might be meeting some FBI agents in person. I don't think they look too kindly on that…<strong>

**Anyway thanks for reading! :) I wrote this when I was very tired so go easy on me. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

The three captives had been left relatively alone for the few minutes before their last call to the outside world was to take place.

Tim's mind was furiously working trying to think of a plan. He almost smiled, wishing, for once, he had Tony's vast movie knowledge and could recall a scene that would have helped him. As it were he would only have himself and his limited experience with situations like this to handle it.

Tim looked down at Emily snuggled against him. An internal battle waged, his thoughts as broken as his heart.

_The math is wrong_. He thought. _I can't sacrifice thousands of people; refuse to try to stop what's going to happened, for one person… even a child. I can't…I can't. One person, one little girl versus a thousand. I can't let them die. I can't let her die. I promised her mother I would take care of her. It might not matter anyway; I might not be able to save anyone._ He thought bitterly.

That idea haunted him, that he might try his best, make the right decision and in the end it not matter at all, for anyone.

Emily looked up at him with tears in her eyes. The pieces of his broken heart shattered a little further. He knew no matter what happened she would live, he would will her to live.

A new determination surged in him. _I don't know how, but I will make this right._

* * *

><p>Gibbs, Ziva, and Fornell headed toward the communication vehicle. Tony, Sacks and Watkins were already there. Tony and Sacks were for all intents and purposes pretending the other didn't exist. All of a sudden Gibbs stopped.<p>

"There's no other way into the station." He said.

Fornell looked at Ziva questioningly. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Of course there's no other way in Jethro. If there were, we would have found it." Fornell said.

"They remodeled this place." Gibbs continued. "When was that?"

"Umm, I'm not- late 80's, I guess. I still don't know-."

"Come on Tobias. You know how people are. They don't do things right, rip it out and start again. They just cover up the old, hope it never gives anyone any problems."

Fornell started to nod with a look of understanding on his face.

"You think there could be an entrance we don't know about, something from the old days."

"It's the best shot we have. The blueprints you've been looking at-."

"Are the most recent." Fornell finished.

"Watkins!" Fornell yelled to the vehicle

"Yes, sir." The young man answered jogging over to them.

"I want the blue prints from the 70's here."

"The 70's sir?" He asked confused.

"Yeah before it was remodeled."

"We want them here ten minutes ago." Gibbs said.

Watkins eyes widened.

"As soon as is humanly possible." Fornell stepped in. "Preferably by the time we get off the phone with Agent McGee."

In addition to the widened eyes the poor man's jaw dropped open. For a few seconds he just stared at Fornell, until he felt a sharp slap to the back of the head. His head swiveled around to Gibbs who fixed him with a hard stare. Fornell sighed gripping the bridge of his nose.

"Ryan, don't make Agent Gibbs slap you again."

"Ummm, no sir." He said turning to rush off. Fornell turned to Gibbs.

"Don't do that again, Jethro I discipline my own people."

"Next time one of your people is held hostage by some terrorists and my people won't move fast enough you can slap one of them. Deal?"

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>"Tim." His thoughts were halted by a quiet voice.<p>

"Yes sir?" He focused on the older man beside him.

"This neurotoxin, sax…"

"Saxitoxin. STX is the abbreviation." Tim offered.

"STX," Ben continued "how-how bad is it."

Tim took a deep breath.

"It's pretty bad. It's actually a natural toxin, usually found in shell fish, but has also been discovered in puffer fish and even freshwater tilapia. It acts on nerve cells, blocking the sodium channels and can lead to paralysis."

"And death." Ben finished.

Tim nodded.

"Yeah, usually from respiratory failure."

Ben didn't respond. Tim looked down at Emily to see how the conversation was affecting her, but she didn't appear to be listening. All of a sudden a mouse ran across right in front of them and she gasped.

"Don't worry little one." Ben comforted. "Its only a mouse, they won't hurt. To tell the truth she's probably just as afraid as you are. The explosion must have unsettled them, usually they stay behind the walls."

Tim stared at him.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked. "This place is perfectly clean I can assure you, don't think this indicates-."

"Ben," Tim interrupted an idea coming to him so quickly he hoped he was able to process it correctly and use it to their benefit, "you said you knew every rat hole in this station."

"Yes sir, I do."

"Is there-," He looked around to try and find Habib and Altair, not seeing them he lowered his voice and continued. "Is there any way out of here? Anything at all. Maybe something that was covered or converted during the restoration that these guys and the FBI wouldn't know about it. Some way that we could get out?" He finished in hushed tones.

Ben was silent for a moment, then began nodding his head.

"Now that you say it, there was an old-."

Footsteps coming their way cut him off but he gave Tim a meaningful look promising the conversation was far from over.

"Have you decided to behave or will we have to make good our threat?" Habib taunted.

"You know I heard once that blackmail was like a gun with one bullet. Sure you have all the power but once that one bullet is gone you have nothing." Tim said refusing to show them fear.

"Are you willing to be the one to pull the trigger?" Habib asked smirking.

Tim sighed.

"I'll make you a deal."

"Again with the deals." Altair laughed. "You have no leverage."

"Yes, I do. I'm about to make a phone call that you want very much to go well."

Altair's eyes narrowed.

"Believe me, you also want this phone call to go well.

"I want to know your plan for the saxitoxin." Tim said simply.

"No."

"Then I'll say something."

"I'll kill her." Altair countered.

"I'm not entirely convinced you won't anyway once this is all over." Tim shot back.

"Why does it matter to you? You are here, not there, and you are going to die anyway." Habib asked suddenly.

Tim shrugged.

"I'm a curious person, I have two degrees. One of them is in biomedical engineering which is how I know what STX is and how it works. It has to be ingested to take effect. Not a lot of options there, but if I had to guess I would say the water supply is your target." Tim said watching them carefully.

Habib's shocked face told him he was correct so Tim pressed forward.

"How will you release it? How-." He was cut off be a blow to his face that for a moment left him seeing stars.

"That is enough." Altair erupted. "You will say no more. I have lost my patience with you. You will talk on the phone to your superior. You will tell him you are fine. You will do nothing to attract suspicion or I will kill the child. If I am feeling benevolent when it is over then you will hear the plan."

Tim shook his head trying to clear the fog. That movement made it worse though and he bit back a groan. He stared at the two men with hatred in his eyes but didn't say anything else.

"Good." Altair said pulling out the phone and beginning to dial.

* * *

><p>At the ringing of the phone everyone was instantly at attention. Fornell shook his head indicating the phone they were hearing was not the one being used for the negotiations. After a few more rings Gibb realized it was his. He was ready to bite the head off of whoever it was but his anger softened and almost turned to guilt when he saw the caller ID.<p>

"Hey Abbs." He answered.

"Gibbs, you haven't called me." She scolded.

"Sorry Abby, we were a little preoccupied."

"Ducky and Palmer and the Director are here, and me, well obviously I'm here or I wouldn't-."

"Abby," Gibbs said, "it is not a good time now."

"I just have one question Gibbs, I'll be quick." she said breathlessly. "Is-is Timmy ok?"

"Last time we talked to him he said he was fine."

"Yes, Jethro, but is he really fine." A second voice floated over the phone.

Gibbs sighed.

"Duck, I can only know what he tells me and even that's probably what those bastards are telling him to say."

"Anything new to report Gibbs? Sec Nav wants to know what's happening." Vance cut in.

"This will be our last phone call before the plane lands in Mexico. After that the hostages should be released." Vance grunted clearly not happy with the situation, but before he could say anything else Abby jumped in.

"Gibbs please, please get Timmy out. I don't think I could-."

"I know Abby." He said gently. Just then Gibbs saw Fornell signal that the call was coming in.

"Gotta go Abbs. I'll let you know when we have news." He said hanging up the phone.

* * *

><p>Vance sighed as they heard the phone.<p>

"I don't think I'm ever going to get use to that."

"What?" Palmer asked confused.

"Gibbs, just hanging up on me."

"Technically he hung up on Abby…" Palmer trailed off after receiving a look from both the director and Ducky.

"The first priority is Timothy correct Director?" Ducky asked a little pointedly.

"Of course Doctor.

"Well I'm sure Jethro is spending every spare minute trying to resolve this situation. I hardly think it is in the best interest of anyone to have to constantly check in, consequently wasting valuable time."

Vance nodded.

"I just hope when the time comes Agent McGee is able to give him some help from the inside."

"Timmy is a good agent. " Abby quickly jumped in to defend him.

"Of course he is Abigail," Ducky soothed, "but he has never been in a situation like this before. "

"He was a hostage at that woman's prison." Abby argued starting to pace. "Ok they weren't trained terrorists, and they didn't have any bombs, and it wasn't exactly like this but-"

"Abigail." Ducky said taking her gently by the shoulders. She stopped walking but tears quickly formed in her eyes.

"Ducky I'm scared." She whispered.

"I know my dear. We are all fearful for Timothy. But I have every faith in his will to survive and his intelligence to make sure that happens. I also know there is no better ally in that struggle than Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

She nodded.

"Ok" Vance said suddenly. "Since Gibbs obviously isn't going to call his Director, Miss Sciuto or Dr. Mallard, please keep me updated. I'm going to try to keep Sec Nav at bay."

"Yes sir."

"Absolutely, Director"

* * *

><p>Gibbs put the phone on speaker when it was handed to him.<p>

"McGee?"

"Hey Boss." A tight voice answered him. Gibb's gut twisted as he was able to detect a note of pain in the tone.

"You ok McGee?"

"Yes." There was a voice in the background Gibbs couldn't understand.

"We're _all_ ok." Tim emphasized sighing.

"About an hour McGee, then we'll have you out." Gibbs said not knowing what else to say.

The silence that met him didn't do anything to ease his mind. He looked up. Tonys face was a blank mask but he was almost trembling with anger. Ziva had her knife out and looked as though she would like to use it.

"Ok" Tim finally said.

Now it was Gibbs turn to sigh. He took the phone off speaker and walked away from the group. Tony followed but Gibbs waved him back.

"Let me talk to the guy in charge McGee." He said calmly. He heard hushed voices, but finally one voice came back on the line.

"What? You have talked to your agent, that is what you wanted."

"He didn't sound too good."

"So? That is not my concern."

"Oh, it is your concern." Gibbs said in a low voice. "I expect him returned in good condition. If you hurt any of them so help me I will track you down and you will regret the day you ever set foot in this country."

A cold laugh came over the phone.

"Talk like that is easy over the telephone yes? Just do as you are told if you want to see them alive again."

"And unless you want your men shot between the eyes when they land in Mexico, I suggest you do as you're told as well." Gibbs said equally as coldly.

"You're government wouldn't do that."

"No, they wouldn't, but I know plenty of people who work outside the system."

All he heard was breathing, but he recognized it as the breathing of someone enraged. The signal was disconnected without anything else being said.

Gibbs walked back to the group.

"Well?" Fornell asked. Gibbs shook his head.

"Something's wrong."

Fornell rolled his eyes.

"Of course it is." He turned to Sacks.

"Where are those damn blueprints?"

"Watkins is getting them sir."

Fornell stared at him.

"Umm, I think I'll go help him."

Fornell turned and grinned at Gibbs.

"How about that? Did it without a headslap."

"Uh-huh, I like my way better."

* * *

><p>Tim turned his weary eyes to Altair after he hung up the phone.<p>

"I want to know about the saxitoxin." He said simply.

Altair smiled broadly.

"Yes, you shall know. It won't be long now before the second part of the plan is put into action and then nothing can stop it."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you guys for the reviews and alerts. :) I am still working on replying to them. I am happy to report that no FBI agents have come knocking on my door. :) I hope my parents don't see the history on their computer though. 'Poisons you can put in water systems', would probably freak them out.<strong>

**Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you are enjoying the story. It is far from over. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks everyone for all the reviews and alerts. They are all so kind and mean so much. :)**

* * *

><p>The smile had not slipped from Altair's face as he continued to revel in the harm they had planned.<p>

"The government you see is focused here and other areas they consider of importance to your national security. They cannot be everywhere. They cannot watch everything, every weakness. Especially while they are responding to the bomb here very shortly."

"You mean…?" Ben asked going pale.

"Oh yes, There is one final bomb that will go off soon." The smile got wider.

"How will you get the saxitoxin into the water system?" Tim asked warily.

Altair laughed delightedly. "At this moment a chlorine truck is being hijacked. Right on schedule it will arrive at the water treatment facility that services the District of Colombia and many of the surrounding areas. Instead of chlorine being pumped into the water to purify it, it will be saxitoxin, to poison it."

"A lot of buildings and houses have filters that will be able to screen it out." Tim pointed out.

"Many buildings do not and if the filters are overloaded they will not be able to catch all the contaminates. You said you know how potent it is, so then you realize we need only a fifth of what we will deposit in to do our jobs."

"They'll know you're planning something when the last bomb goes off. You'll have gone back on the agreement. What's to stop them from turning the plane around and bringing Jad Allah and Kazim Azmire back to America?" Tim asked

"They don't realize what awaits them when they get to Mexico". Habib sneered. "We have a small army waiting to escort our brothers to safety."

Tim went silent imagining the horror that would engulf the city when mass symptoms of paralysis started to show itself. The panic alone would kill many people. Tim straightened.

"I held up my end of the bargain. Let Emily go." He said firmly trying to hide his fear. The impending crisis about to descend on the city was enough but he had a dread in the pit of his stomach that Emily would not be willingly released.

Altair studied him. "She can leave right before we set the last bomb off. We wouldn't, after all want her to go and spoil our plan would we? The delivery of the truck to the facility will coincide exactly with the explosion. There will be no way to stop it at that point."

"No-." Tim started as Emily started to cry.

"My decision is final." Altair stated resolutely and there was no give in his eyes.

Tim kicked himself for not insisting Emily be allowed to leave before she heard what was happening, though he doubted it would have made a difference to them.

Altair started to walk away.

"One of us will always be guarding the front entrance if you plan on trying anything." He said over his shoulder.

"You won't succeed." Ben said suddenly and quietly. "You people thought you had us down after September 11th but you didn't. This will knock us down, yes, but Americans always get back up. You won't win."

Altair smiled indulgently, the coldness never leaving his eyes.

"We already have."

* * *

><p>Exactly 20 minutes after they had hung up with McGee, Watkins and Sacks returned with the blueprints. Gibbs snatched them away with a glare and spread them out on a table.<p>

"Bring the new ones over here." He ordered. They were quickly spread out for comparison.

"Alright." Fornell said pointing. "The café is in the southwest corner. Bombs were set off destroying the whole east and much of the north section except for the main entrance, so nothing there is usable. Here's where the hostages came out."

"We will need to sneak up on them." Ziva commented.

There was silence for a few moments as they studied the plans.

"Southside looks like the best bet then. We're west now." Fornell finally said.

"What's the plan sir?" Sacks asked.

"We're going to check it out." Gibbs said already gathering his stuff. Tony and Ziva hurried to do the same.

"But-" Sacks started.

"Watkins, go with them." Fornell said cutting him off.

"To do what sir?"

"Help Ryan, back-up."

"Why? We can handle it." Ziva asked.

"We may need someone to report back Ziva." Gibbs said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Tony was glad to be walking, finally getting to do something. He had been pacing in a ten foot area waiting for the blueprints to arrive. Now they had a plan, he hoped.<p>

He looked over at Ziva, her mouth was pressed in a thin line. The hate in her eyes a mirror of the emotion in Gibbs'. His eyes had briefly softened when they heard McGee's voice over the phone, but then hardened again when they heard the flatness of his tone.

Tony knew for a fact there would be little left of the terrorists by the time they were done, he only hoped there would be enough left of his partner to save.

* * *

><p>Sacks watched them leave.<p>

"You're mad at me." He said turning to Fornell who was still studying the blueprints. It was more of a statement than a question. "Look I didn't mean what I said about Agent McGee the way it sounded. I mean anybody that can put up with DiNozzo…" He trailed off when he got no response from his senior agent.

"Ron why is our team the best?" Fornell finally said never looking at him. Sacks frowned, but wisely recognized a rhetorical question when asked. Fornell continued.

"Because we don't have any weak links, that what make a team run like clockwork. Gibbs is the best agent at NCIS. Do you think Gibbs is the type to tolerate a weak agent?"

"No sir."

"The reason some people haven't proven themselves in certain situations is because they've never been put in that position, but there's a first time for everything. A first time to find out what we're made of."

Sack still looked doubtful.

"Do you think he can get out of this, honestly?"

"Honestly? I don't know. One thing I do know. Gibbs, and I know Gibbs has faith in him. That's good enough for me."

* * *

><p>Emily was crying and shaking.<p>

"I want my mommy, I want my mommy." She sobbed again and again.

"Shh, Emily listen, listen. Look at me ok." When she finally met Tim's eyes he gave her his best confident smile. "I need you to trust me." He whispered. "Can you do that for just a little longer?"

He smiled again when she nodded. "Ok, it's going to be ok."

He looked up at Ben who was gazing sympathetically at the girl.

"I'd love to hear about that escape route you know of."

Ben nodded and began quietly.

"This area use to be an old office, connected behind the walls to the ticket counter. It wasn't designed that way, but they found it necessary later."

"There were years, in the old days, when that lobby was packed so tight there was barely room to move, much less leave. The men behind the counter would use the passageway to escape here and get a break."

"It was never destroyed and now maintenance uses it when we need to get around without having to go through the crowd. A lot of our breaker boxes are back there as well."

"How will we get into the passage?" Tim inquired.

"There's an access panel. It looks very solid but all it really takes to move it is a firm shoulder and a push. It's in the back to the left of the men's bathroom."

"Do you think the path would be clear?" Tim asked frowning.

"A lot of the building was built with marble. It's very sturdy." Ben assured.

"What about once you get to the ticket counter?"

"There's small window there."

"I'd rather it be a door." Tim said regretfully.

Ben smiled.

"You don't want many entrances to a ticket counter son."

Tim nodded.

"Ok." He took a deep breath. "We need to wait for the right time and then I'll try and create a distraction to keep them from following. You take Emily and make a run for it."

Ben looked surprised. "I'm not going."

Tim did a double take.

"What?"

"I'll create the distraction and you will take the girl and go." He said firmly.

"No." Tim started shaking his head, but Ben interrupted him.

"Your young, you stand the best chance of getting yourself and the girl out. If there are obstacles in the way you can move them. I can't. If needed you can pick the girl up and carry her."

"But-"

"The first rule for saving someone is to be able to save yourself. I would hardly be able to get myself out, you can. "

"No, no, no, no." Tim said emphatically. "I won't leave you here."

"On the contrary my friend. You must leave me."

"I'm cuffed to the damn chair!" Tim hissed. "How is that going to work?"

"I can pick a lock." Ben said simply. "I just need something to do it with."

"Yeah and if we had the key we could just open it but we don't and we don't have anything sharp either."

"We haven't looked. Surely that bomb knocked something lose." Ben said very calmly.

Tim decided it would be best to shut his mouth and think.

"A sliver of metal…" Ben started.

"Would be perfect." Tim finished.

They looked around cautiously. Nothing caught Tim's eye immediately and after several minutes of searching with his eyes he was almost ready to give up when Emily pointed silently to something poking out from under one of the chair legs almost obscured from view. Habib came around the corner at that moment.

"What is she pointing at?" He demanded sharply.

"Rats" Ben said matter of factly. "They've been out and about today. The child really doesn't like them much."

Habib looked back and forth between the three as if unsure and grunted before leaving. Tim let out a breath he hadn't remembered taking.

"Ok." He looked around again. "See if you can grab it."

Emily scooted forward quickly and wrapped her small hand around the metal sticking out. She quickly slid back to Tim's side. They decided to wait a few more minutes until Habib had passed again to make sure they had the maximum amount of time. Tim used that time to try and convince Ben once again.

"I can't leave you here. "

"Same plan as before." Ben said ignoring him. "I will cause a distraction and you will get out."

"You can't sacrifice yourself like that!"

"You were planning on doing it." Ben pointed out.

"I'm a federal agent, this is my job."

"You're young." He said gently. "You've got your whole life ahead of you."

Tim started shaking his head.

"You've got a lot of time too, you're not that old."

Tim didn't understand the small smile on Ben's face until he started to speak.

"I told you I was an alcoholic right?"

"Yes."

"Liver disease. Why should I get out to, live five years at the most when you could escape and probably save dozens of lives in your career?"

Tim couldn't think of anything to say.

"Remember I said this job was my second chance." Ben continued. "I was given that second chance, now I'm giving that back. I'm giving it to you and Emily."

"I can't-." Tim started to argue again but was cut off.

"Son I've got one and only one fight left in me. Make sure it counts."

Tim knew he had lost the argument. Something in him told him when it first began that he had lost but he had valiantly tried to fight it. What Ben had presented was logical and rational and logic and reason were two things Timothy McGee would never argue with.

"Ok." He said softly. "It will count, I swear."

Ben smiled and they waited. Habib passed with only a glance. As soon as he was out of sight Ben slide over with the metal sliver in hand. It was only seconds until the cuff was off his wrist. Tim's arm was sore from lack of movement and the earlier wound. He quickly rubbed his wrist attempting to get some circulation back into the limb.

"Where did you learn that?" He asked Ben.

"I told you my wife had to come and get me out of jail. What did you think that was for, being a boy scout?"

Tim snorted a laugh.

"Can we leave?" Emily asked.

"Almost honey. We need to wait for one more pass. Just be calm and don't look him in the eye, ok?" Tim held the handcuff praying neither of the two men would look closely enough to see that he was not still restrained. True to Murphy's Law this time when Habib passed he seemed to want to gloat over his impending success.

"Your country thinks the day in September 2001 was a terrible day, it will be nothing compared to what will happened when the neurotoxin is released. The silent killer that many will not recognize until it is too late." He said almost gleefully.

Tim wanted nothing more than for Habib to leave. However he also recognized the need for as much information as he could get about what was going on so he could better plan their escape and then, hopefully, tell the authorities outside the wall in enough time to stop it.

"Where's your partner?"

Habib grinned wickedly. "Building the bomb that will bring this building down."

"That's mean." Emily said angrily. Tim immediately shushed her.

"Well the child has found her tongue." Habib commented leaning down. "Perhaps I should cut it out. In my country children do not speak to adults in that manner."

"Leave her alone." Tim said wearily hoping any anxiety he was showing would be chalked up to his apparent impending death.

Habib laughed. Tim sat silent as a stone and held Emily still until just after Habib's footsteps faded. He quickly and quietly got to his feet pulling Emily with him.

"Godspeed." Ben whispered. Tim leaned down.

"I'm coming back."

"No-"

"Hey! This is called compromise. You convinced me to leave; now I'm telling you that I'm coming back.

Ben nodded reluctantly.

"Fine just go."

* * *

><p>Tim had never walked so silently in his life, but then again he reflected that he had never had a reason to before. He easily found the access panel and just as Ben had said it was easily moved. It made a very small noise as it was pushed aside but to Tim's hypersensitive ears it sounded as though it reverberated through the whole building. He debated moving the panel back across the entrance once they were through but decided against wasting what little valuable time they had.<p>

Twenty feet into the tunnel Tim heard angry shouting. He knew it wouldn't be long before the entrance was found and their advantage lost. He gave Emily hand a tight squeeze, took a deep breath and forged on.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks again for reading. I think this story has gone much smoother than my others so I'm kind of enjoying it. Thanks for sticking with me. :) <strong>

**Hope everyone has a wonderful day! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

_**A hero is an ordinary individual who find the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles -Christopher Reeve**_

* * *

><p>Emily and Tim had first tried running down the tunnel with McGee leading and Emily right behind him. However she wasn't able to keep us with him and it soon proved too dangerous to let her run on her own. Electric lines were laying everywhere and from the crackling they appeared to be live.<p>

"_Great we get away from the terrorists only to be killed by some downed electrical line."_ Tim thought ironically.

"Will Mr. Ben be ok?" Emily asked so softly he almost didn't hear.

Tim had to swallow a lump in his throat before answering.

"I hope so Emily."

He tried use the time getting to the ticket office to instruct Emily, cramming everything she would need to do in the short time they had, all the while dodging obstacles and watching for danger. His ear was finely tuned in for any type of noise behind him. There were several false alarms when he would have swore someone was following them but it proved only to be the result of his keyed up nerves.

"You need to find Agent Gibbs." He said speaking to the girl in his arms. "If you can't find him find Agent DiNozzo or Agent David."

"Who are they?"

"Gibbs is my boss and Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David are my partners. They have my six." He smiled as he said it.

"What's six?"

"My back. We take care of each other. Watch each other's back. They have my back and they'll have yours."

"You're coming with me though." Her hold tightening on his neck.

"If I can't get out or if we get separated then you'll need to know. Besides, I need to go back for Mr. Ben." He said softly. In reality he was wondering if either of them would be able get out at all. Depending on how the structure was shaken, the window could be completely collapsed leaving them no escape. He shook that thought out of his head and continued.

"You need to make sure you tell them about the STX. Make sure they know the STX is going to be put into the water system at the water treatment plant in DC. Ok?"

"K."

"Tell Gibbs he can't storm the place. There's another bomb that going to go off. I don't know when. I'll be out when I can, but he can't come after me."

She nodded into his shoulder.

As soon as they exited the tunnel Tim spotted the window. As he had suspected, it hadn't been a large window to begin with but the explosion had shaken the foundation and shifted the walls around the window. The opening was now at an odd angle and several large beams had fallen in the way.

Tim set Emily down and groaned.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a small voice.

"Umm, nothing, just have to move some of this stuff out of the way."

Two of the beams fell away with little resistance. The third one proved to be more difficult. He tried several times using all his strength to move it and even employed some of his physics knowledge. Despite it all the beam remained firmly in place.

Tim studied it for as long as he dared before he came to the conclusions he had dreaded.

"Emily, come here." He knelt down in front of her.

"I'll never fit through that opening, you'll have to go alone."

She started to wail.

"Hey!" He said sharply then followed more gently. "Hey."

"You're going to be fine. Remember what I told you? Who do you find?"

"Agent Gibbs." She sniffed.

"And if you can't find Gibbs?" He prompted.

"Find Tony or Ziva. What if they can't help?"

"Gibbs can do anything and Tony and Ziva always have my six remember? You have two things to remember to tell them what are they?"

"STX…umm, is going in the water."

"Ok, and?"

"Another bomb…"

"So don't come charging in." Tim finished.

She nodded.

"Can you remember one more thing I forgot?" He asked

"I think so."

"They can't let that plane land in Mexico, other terrorists are waiting."

"Ok…I can remember."

"Good girl."

He gave her a quick hug and lifted her up helping her crawl through the opening. She looked back mournfully her eyes filled with fear.

"What if I can't stop it? "

Tim looked her straight in the eye.

"Emily listen. No matter what happens, this will not be your fault. You might do your very best and bad things happen anyway. I don't want you to ever blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. No matter what happens."

She continued to look her eyes filling with tears. She started to reach for him again, but he steered her back to the light coming through the hole.

"Go." he said gently but firmly.

* * *

><p>"Tony…"<p>

A hand touching his arm made him jump.

"What?"

She didn't say anything just studied him.

"What Ziva?" He asked more sharply this time.

"You are unfocused." She said simply.

"I am not."

"If you were focusing you have heard the three times I said your name."

"Maybe I'm focused too much Ze-vah. Anyway who put you in charge of focus? Are you the Queen of Focus? Perhaps the Agent of Attention, Commissioner of Concentration-"

The simple fact was neither of the agents were focusing or they would have seen that Gibbs had stopped and turned before they ran smack into him.

"I will headslap you both into next year if you don't quit arguing." He said in a low, dangerous voice.

Ziva opened her mouth.

"I don't care who started it. I'm ending it. Now!"

* * *

><p>Watkins watched as the three argued, wondering about this team that had the best track record in NCIS history.<p>

Suddenly his eyes caught a moment slightly behind Gibbs coming around a corner. He instinctively reached for his gun. That movement caused the other three agents to immediately fall back into their training. Gibbs swung around, gun already up, Tony and Ziva were a split second behind.

The small figure in front of them burst into tears and looked ready to bolt. Gibbs holstered his weapon as quickly as he could and pulled out his badge talking to her in a calm soothing voice.

"It's ok, it's ok. We're federal agents. Are you Emily?"

"Yes."

"I'm Agent Gibbs and-."

"Agent Gibbs?" She immediately perked at his name.

"Yes."

"Tim…told me to find you."

Gibbs cautiously walked toward her.

"How did you get out?"

"There was a window in the ticket office." She pointed. "We came through a tunnel."

"What did Tim tell you to tell me?"

"Th-three things."

Gibbs nodded patiently as he knelt in front of her so he was eye level.

"They, the bad people are going to put STX in the water so people will die." Ziva sucked in a breath.

"What are the other two?" Gibbs prodded.

"Don't come inside because there's another bomb. And…umm."

"You're doing good Emily. One more thing."

"Umm…other bad people are in…they're waiting for the plane to land."

Gibbs took a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding and straightened.

"Thank you Emily. I need to call a friend ok, just hold on."

Gibbs pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial.

"Gibbs, how's-?"

"No time Abby. What do you know about STX?"

"STX?" He could hear the confusion in her voice.

"Yeah, terrorist are planning to put it in water system."

"Ohhhh." She said with understanding. "Oh-no! STX is a neurotoxin. It causes paralysis and death, usually from respiratory failure. It is super effective Gibbs. I mean just the tiniest bit can kill people and it doesn't take long either. Mostly people get it from seafood which I never really worried about because I hate seafood but-."

_Click_

Abby stared at the phone.

"Ok," she said turning to Ducky. "I really, really hate it when he does that."

"Watkins get her back to Fornell." Gibbs instructed after he hung up. "Tell him we've got a neurotoxin STX that's going to be released into the water system."

"Emily, you need to tell Agent Fornell everything you know. Everything you told me and everything you can remember ok?"

"Ok." She paused before asking. "Is my mom there?"

"She is." He said gently please to her face split into a smile.

"What will you be doing sir?" Watkins asked.

"Checking out that window." Gibbs replied.

"Will you watch Tim's six?" Emily piped up suddenly.

Gibbs looked at her curiously the slightest of smiles tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Tim said you and Tony and Ziva have his six." Emily continued.

Tony felt a lump forming in his throat. He looked over at Ziva who was twirling her necklace. A sure sign of her emotional turmoil from the Israeli native.

"Yeah, Emily…we've got his six." Gibbs said softly.

* * *

><p>Tim stood for a moment staring at the hole Emily had just left though. She was out, that was such a huge burden off his shoulder, not Emily herself, but the fear of what would happen to her. He knew if she could get to his team she would be safe. He smiled slightly to himself thinking if nothing else went right that day, she had escaped.<p>

He turned headed back into the tunnel when a series of gunshots coming from the café caused him to quicken the pace.

* * *

><p><strong>Ohhh suspense. This may be my quickest update every! :) Thanks so much for reading. <strong>

**Thank you shialuvr222 for being Beta. I appreciate you and your time. :)**

**So glad you guys like the story. I have been overwhelmed by the number of reviews and alerts. They all make me smile. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Ducky pulled out his phone to call the Director after determining Abby was in no condition to do so.

"_Vance."_

"Director, its Ducky. We have an update."

"_Please tell me good news?"_

"I'm afraid not, Jethro has just discovered that the terrorists are planning on releasing a neurotoxin into the water system. We just got off the phone with him, he called Abigail to confirm the type."

"_What is the type?"_

"It is saxitoxin commonly called STX. It's usually found in shellfish and is very deadly."

Vance let out a sigh.

_I'll call the director of the FBI and see how he wants us to help. Stand by Doctor, we may need some medical advice."_

"Of course."

"_Thank you as well for calling."_

Ducky chuckled.

"Certainly Director, not a problem."

_"Is for some people."_ Vance muttered before hanging up.

Ducky turned back to his companion in the lab. Abby sat at her computer staring at a picture of Tim she had pulled up. Her cheeks were stained with mascara as Ducky walked over and attempted to comfort her.

"Abigial, fretting will do you no good." He gently chastised.

"I can't help it Ducky." She whispered. "McGee's my best friend. I can't even imagine losing him. Who would appreciate all the cool science I do."

"We appreciate your science dear girl." Ducky protested.

"Yeah, but you don't understand it the way McGee does. I mean when I hack into something or discover some files on a computer he actually understands how hard it is, so he appreciates it on a different level. Nobody understands me like he does." She said glumly.

"Besides," she said fresh tears starting down her face. "You know what this means?"

"What, what means my dear?"

"If the terrorists are planning to do this to the city, it probably means they were never planning on letting the hostages go."

Ducky was silent unable to argue with the grim conclusion.

"McGee's going to have to get out by himself. He's all alone Ducky." She said with a heartbroken sob as she put her face down in her arms.

Ducky gently patted her shoulder as he silently prayed.

* * *

><p>"McGeek should have come out with Emily." Tony fretted.<p>

"Maybe he went after the other hostage." Ziva mused.

"Or the bomb." Gibbs said. They were searching carefully along the wall for the hole Emily mentioned.

"Over here." Ziva yelled. Tony and Gibbs were quickly at her side.

"Ok now we know why he didn't make an escape." Tony commented starting at the tiny hole. "I doubt even Ziva can fit through that hole."

"There was probably only enough room for the girl." Ziva observed. "We will have to get some type of machinery in here." She said decidedly.

"At this point I'm sure the terrorists know about the tunnel and this area, it's not like we're going to sneak up on them." Tony pointed out.

"We can create a distraction, a diversion to keep their attention elsewhere while we do the work." She argued.

"Don't need to waste time with subtlety." Gibbs said abruptly turning away.

"What'd ya mean Boss?"

"By now they know the girl is gone. They have no reason to keep McGee alive. As soon as they find him, he's dead. Even if they don't kill him on the spot we still have to contend with the bomb."

He stood for a moment looking at the sky.

"What do we do Boss?" Tony asked quietly. "We don't know when the bomb will go off or where. It's playing Russian roulette."

"I think Ziva's right; this way is probably our best way in. The bomb will be at the front since those two probably didn't know about this until McGee escaped."

Gibbs pulled out his phone.

"_Gibbs, sit rep." _Vance said coming on the line.

"We need a bomb squad down here and some machinery to clear a hole in the wall that we can enter through."

"_There's another bomb?"_

"Yup."

"_Ok, I'll get it down there as soon as I can. How is everything else? Ducky called me about the STX." _He said before Gibbs had to explain.

"As soon as we get McGee out everything will be fine." Gibbs replied.

_"Understood. I'll get the equipment down there."_

* * *

><p>"I need the plant shut down." Fornell said pacing.<p>

"_We-we can't just shut the facility down sir."_ A young man stuttered over the phone.

"Oh you can't, well that's fine sorry to bother you. What the hell do you mean you can't? Did you understand what I said? A chlorine truck has been hijacked. They are going to dump a neurotoxin into the water to kill hundreds of people. If I may be so bold as to ask, under what circumstances can you shut the facility down. If Godzilla was bearing down on you would that work?" Fornell's voice was gradually getting louder.

"_Maybe I should let you talk to my supervisor."_

"Yeah son I think that would be a good idea."

Emily sat close by in her mother's arms. The reunion had been joyful and for many was the only bright spot in what had quickly become a long miserable day.

Emily relayed everything she could remember with the help of Agent Watkins and Fornell wasted no time in contacting the utility district to make the necessary arrangement. He continued to converse over the phone seemingly making much more progress with the supervisor. He hung up just as Sacks came over to report.

"Agents are on their way to intercept the truck. Fortunately each truck is tracked by GPS so it won't be hard to find. And…"

"Yeah?" Fornell prompted when he paused.

"The Director just called, wondering why he was hearing about a bio-terror threat from the director of NCIS."

"I was a little busy trying to avert a crisis Ron."

"Yes, sir. I told him you were handling it."

Fornell shook his head.

"He's getting as bad as Vance, either that or I'm getting as bad as Gibbs."

Sacks wisely didn't say and Fornell pulled out his phone again.

"Jethro, how's it going?" He listened for a minute. "Uh-huh. We have a bomb squad enroute after Emily told us. You're not actually going in? You don't know when the bomb will go off."

_If it were one of your people what would you do Tobias?_ Gibbs heard a sigh.

"You know what I'd do."

"_Yeah, that's what I'm doing."_

"Ok, here's what we can do. We set off some smoke bombs to distract. That would confuse them and give you a diversion while you're trying to get in."

_"Do it."_

"Find out ETA of that bomb squad and get me a SWAT team." Fornell yelled as agent scrambled to comply.

* * *

><p>McGee was running down the tunnel as quickly as he dared. The blood was pounding and roaring in his ears, the dust and darkness absorbing the light was the only explanation he could think of later to explain why he was able to run head on into a figure also running full speed in the darkness.<p>

Pain exploded twice, once when he hit the other body and then again when he hit the floor. He blinked trying to identify his companion as he struggled to rise when the shape came out of nowhere and tacked him. For several terrifying minutes he struggled then miraculously found himself with the upper hand. He straddled his assailant's chest and peered down into his face. The cold, hate filled eyes held a slight gleam that told him the information he really wanted to know.

"You killed him didn't you?" Tim said already knowing.

The laugh was even colder than the eyes but he said nothing.

"I heard six shots, did it really take than many?" Tim asked hatefully shaking in anger.

"No it didn't and it will take even less for you." Altair said with disdain. He shoved Tim off suddenly. Tim groaned as his ribs connected with an exposed beam.

"Why do you fight so hard now? Why not before?" Altair asked .

"Remember I told your buddy blackmail was like a gun with only one bullet. It's already spent. You had two and they're both gone. I have nothing to lose." Tim said still trying to get his breath.

"You have your life, your fitly American life."

"I pledged my life for this country a long time ago."

"Then you will die for it." Altair was leaning over him gleefully.

A flash of light behind Altair's head caught Tim's eye, sparking an idea of his own. The metal grate covering the fuse boxes would likely have current running through it. _If I could just get some more leverage._ Altair grabbed the front of his shirt attempting to haul him to his feet. Tim surged up suddenly throwing the man off balance. He stumbled backwards.

Taking advantage, Tim shoved him with all his might. The sparks momentarily blinded him, but the scream told him he had hit the right place.

Just like that it was over. It seemed so anti climactic. His adversary's body convulsed two more times and then he was still.

Tim sank to the ground gasping. He knew he had to get up but wasn't sure where he would find the strength. The bomb was still live, Habib was no doubt finishing the job, and Tim was still in a building that would be collapsing soon. He struggled to his feet and started down the tunnel again, still as quickly but more alert this time. It seemed to take longer to get back but he finally emerged from the access panel.

When he rounded the corner he stopped short and realized why so many shots had been fired.

Habib was lying face down in a pool of blood. Tim couldn't see where he was shot but the stillness of the figure told him he was dead. Ben lay back against the wall, Habib's gun, actually Tim's gun, still in his hand.

Tim knew he should keep moving, he had no idea how much time was left on the bomb, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Ben's face. He looked at peace, a man who had sacrificed everything, his life, but did so without hesitation. Tim was overwhelmed at the thought of the sacrifice that had been made.

It seemed like eternity before he was finally able to move from his spot. He made his way to the front entrance. His heart sank when he saw what little had been left of it was destroyed, denying escape. His only way out now truly was the small window in the ticket office.

Quickly scanning he spotted the bomb and moved swiftly toward it. It was like no design he had ever seen before but even if it was the blinking light would have only given him 37 seconds to disarm it.

Tim straightened and headed for the tunnel again.

_Why am I even trying? I'll never make it out before the building collapses. At least I'll be further away. I might by some miracle survive. It'll take hours or days to find me though. _He argued back and forth with himself.

He was so lost in thought he almost didn't notice the small device before it was too late. As he passed one of the tables he spotted the cell phone Altair had been using to communicate with the FBI. He grabbed it as he ran by and rejoiced when he saw it had full bars and was still charged enough for a call. Quickly dialing a number he knew by heart he entered the tunnel as it was answered.

"_Yeah, Gibbs"_

Hey Boss. He said lightly, surprised at how disconnected he felt.

_I guess 30 seconds away from death can do that to a person. _He thought.

"_McGee where-are you ok?"_

"Mostly, there's about 30 seconds on the bomb, give or take, so I'm running from that."

"_Get under something solid McGee and I'll find you."_

"Boss you can't-."

_"I. Will. Find. You. End of discussion. Clear?"_

"Clear. The ticket office-."

"_Where the girl got out?"_

Tim swallowed.

"I think I can make it under the ticket counter. _I hope."_ He thought but knew that Gibbs wouldn't accept anything less.

"_Then hang up and run McGee. I'll see you soon."_ He said the last sentence softer almost gently.

The phone clicked in Gibbs' hand and he waited. The noise around him only background sounds as he watched the building. He heard Tony and Ziva talking to him, Fornell on the phone and agents scrambling around, but his complete focus was on the building. He only had to wait about ten seconds, but it seemed like eternity before the southwest end mushroomed.

* * *

><p><strong>Three updates in one week, no the world is not ending. Lol I don't think anyway. :)<strong>

**I wanted to put in a note about Ben. Several people reviewed and said they hoped he made it out alive. I'm not into killing people just for the sake of it, but this is how I had always pictured it. I did consider changing it but it just seemed right this way. Sorry to all who are disappointed.**

**Thanks so much for reading. I love the reviews and alerts. I have been so appreciative of the response to this story, everyone has been so sweet. **

**We probably have several more chapters to go. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone, my how the week does fly by. Life gets in the way of writing which is extremely unfair, however I guess life does give us inspiration so I won't knock it too much. :)**

**Thank shialuvr222 for the editing! I know this chapter took more than most. :)**

* * *

><p>"Alright." Fornell said getting off the phone. "The truck was surrounded two miles away from the water treatment plant. Two thousand gallons of saxitoxin. Enough to wipe out the whole eastern seaboard and then some."<p>

Ziva shuddered.

"Equipment to clear the hole should be here in 20 minutes and we stopped the plane before it got to Mexico." He continued. "Though it's going to be a nightmare to get the federales to investigate terrorist activity. They've got enough problems of their own, they don't want to deal with ours."

"Terrorism is not only our problem." Ziva said coolly.

"Ziva, no one agrees with you more than me."

Tony was almost bouncing from one foot to the other with impatience.

"Why is the equipment going to take so long to get here?" He asked slightly annoyed.

Fornell looked at him sympathetically.

"They have to get the equipment here. Traffic is a nightmare out there DiNozzo. They'll be here as soon as is humanly possible. They've got two directors of federal agencies riding their butt."

Gibbs smirked. His phone started to ring and he turned away to answer it.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

* * *

><p>Tony hated this waiting, couldn't stand it. It was making him nervous, combine that with fear, uncertainty of the situation, and complete helplessness and he was ready to record this day, forever and eternity, as one of the worst.<p>

"_Wow I'm almost as cranky as Gibbs_." He thought grumpily.

He looked over as the older man's phone began to ring, thinking it was probably Abby. The name he heard was the last he expected.

"McGee where-are you ok?" Gibbs asked as shocked as Tony had ever heard him.

Tony's ears perked up at the mention of his partner's name. Ziva and Fornell moved in closer as did Watkins and Sacks intently focused on the man with the phone.

Gibbs listened for a few seconds.

"Get under something solid McGee and I'll find you."

_The bomb._ Tony thought. He knew the others were thinking it too. What was worse was it sounded like McGee was not going to have time to get out.

McGee apparently tried to argue because Gibbs came back with his this-is-not-an-option voice.

"I. Will. Find. You. End of discussion. Clear?" Gibbs listened again.

"Where the girl got out?" He clarified.

"Ticket office." Ziva said to Fornell. He nodded. Gibbs face softened.

"Then hang up and run McGee. I'll see you soon." Gibbs shut the phone and turned all this attention to the nearly decimated building.

"Gibbs what's going on?" Fornell asked.

Gibbs didn't answer but just continued to stare at the building.

"Boss what's happening." Tony inquired louder.

"Gibbs?" Ziva started uneasily.

To their sudden horror, the building exploded.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to stand still as the building slowly crumpled. Tony didn't even realize he was running towards the building until he felt strong arms around his waist pulling him back.<p>

"What-. No!"

"Tony," Gibbs whispered harshly in his ear, "there is nothing you can do for him by running in like that. We have to wait for it to settle, and then clear out the debris. We are no good to him if we're in no shape to dig."

Gibbs waited until Tony nodded in affirmation before he let him go, still keeping a hand on his arm to make sure he didn't bolt again. All too soon the building did settle and everyone available at the scene swarmed the site to try and help dig.

Ziva moved like a caged animal, not wanting to see what she was expecting. Of all the people she knew McGee deserved this the least, to be trapped beneath rubble, probably dead and if not seriously injured for no reason other than someone else's hate.

As Ziva worked she thought about the time when Tony's car had exploded. She smiled as she remembered how McGee had refused to believe Tony was dead. He didn't know how to explain it but he just wouldn't accept that his friend was the body in the car. She looked at Tony and sighed, praying this would end the same for Tony as it had for Tim.

Tony bit anyone's head off who talked to him, becoming more and more frantic with each passing minute. Each time they uncovered the area McGee _should _have been in and wasn't, each time he imagined a voice asking for help, every time they had to wait for the equipment to move a section, it got worse.

Gibbs didn't talk at all. He told McGee he would find him, he had no intention of letting him down. Still he surveyed the scene with dread. The building has slowly collapsed after the initial explosion. He hoped that had allowed McGee more time to get to a safe place. Assuming a safe place would even help. Many of the pieces they had moved had taken all their strength and even then they needed the machine for some of it. It would have gone quicker for a machine to do it all, but it might have shifted the pieces that were left of the building crushing whoever was under them. It was safer to do it by hand, but the longer they waited the worse shape McGee could be in.

Sensing the tension among their NCIS counterparts none of the other agents helping voiced their doubt but worked steadily.

Ziva was so intent on her task she almost didn't hear her phone. It rang several times before she pulled it out of her pocket and answered.

"David."

"_Ziva!" _

"Abby?"

"_I tried to call Gibbs and Tony, no one was answering. I saw the explosion on the news. Please, please, please tell me McGee was out."_

Ziva was quiet.

"_No, no, no!"_ Abby sobbed.

"Abby, we are looking for him and we will not leave until he is found." Ziva said with intensity.

"_He can't be dead_." Abby cried into the phone.

"We don't know that he is Abby. I will call you when I know something." Ziva hung up quickly for several reasons. She didn't want to be drawn into a long conversation when they should be looking for McGee and she knew if she talked to Abby much longer she would no longer be able to hide how desperate she felt the situation really was for their teammate.

* * *

><p>It seemed like days though it had only been two and a half hours before…<p>

"I have found him." Ziva cried with breathless joy in her voice. "I have his foot. McGee, McGee, if you can hear me we are going to get you out."

Tony and Gibbs rushed over while Fornell signaled the paramedics standing by to come over.

At first all they could see was his foot which Gibbs hoped wasn't an indication of the rest of his body. His leg was badly mangled and looked to be at an odd angle. They quickly pulled away some more of the rubble trying to get to his head. As they pulled away one more slab Gibbs stared, grateful, for half a second at what he saw.

It appeared McGee had been able to make it to the ticket counter. It had collapsed around him, but two pieces had fallen in such a way to create almost a tent around his head. The pieces were firmly stuck in the rubble around it and Gibbs dared not move the man for fear of a spinal or neck injury, but he needed to know. He warily stuck his hand through the opening to reach his agent's neck and sighed. Feeling Tony and Ziva boring holes in his back with their eyes he looked at them and nodded.

"I can't believe the desk stood up to the building coming down on it." Fornell shook his head coming back over. "They don't make things like they use to."

Gibbs managed strangled laugh, the relief of feeling a pulse causing the whole situation to feel surreal. He gingerly laid his hand on McGee's shoulder blade and simply said.

"Tim, it's ok, son. We've got you."

There was no movement and no acknowledgment but he hadn't expected one anyway. It was true there was a pulse, but it was weak and slower than Gibbs would have liked. He was quickly pushed away by the paramedics and gladly stood aside for them to do their job. Soon they had him ready for transport.

Gibbs started to follow the paramedic until he remembered Tony. Tony's worry in the squad room, his face when they talked to McGee on the phone and then again when he saw the explosion, Tony digging in the rubble looking for his friend and partner until his hands were bleeding and he had to be physically dragged away to rest.

"Tony." Gibbs nodded toward the ambulance. "Why don't you ride with him to Bethesda?"

The man's face lit up and rushed toward the ambulance not needing to be told twice. He climbed in as they were about to shut the door and sat down trying to take up as little room as possible to allow the work to continue. He didn't understand most of what was said but heard troubling phrases like respiratory failure, shattered bones, shock…

Tony watched the EMT work on McGee for a few minutes before he turned his attention back to McGee. His partner's face was extremely pale under the oxygen mask and despite the layer of dirt and trails of blood. It just got worse the farther down he looked. It appeared McGee's head and torso had been the only parts remotely protected from the blast. Tony suddenly saw the smallest of movements and moved to McGee's head right in his line of vision in case he opened his eyes.

After a few seconds the green eyes did indeed slide open half way.

Tony gently touched his shoulder.

"Hey buddy." He said lightly.

"Tony…" Tim said weakly through the mask as he tried desperately to focus. _Emily!_ "Emily…?"

"She's safe." Tony soothed.

"Water…"

"We don't have any water sir." The EMT said misunderstanding.

"We stopped it." Tony said never taking his focus off McGee.

"Ben…"

Tony was silent. He knew the odds of Ben being alive were almost zero. If he were alive at the time they were escaping he would have been with Tim. Tony answered slowly, trying be vague so Tim would focus on his own recovery.

"They haven't found him yet, but-"

"Hsss…dead..." Tim rasping voice interrupted, a tear trickling out his eyes and running down his check leaving a trail of dust and blood.

"Hey, you saved a lot of people ok?" Tony said softly. He took a tissue the EMT offered him and wiped away the tear. "Not gonna let you beat yourself up about the one you couldn't. You're like…like-" It was too late Tim was already closing his eyes.

Tony watched his friend slide back into oblivion, very worried. He had been so wrapped up in getting McGee out safely he didn't consider how his mental state would be when it happened. He knew survivor's guilt was a powerful thing, but he vowed to do everything in his power to assure it wouldn't consume his friend.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you, thank you for the reviews, alerts and just plain reading. Please let me know what you think!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

_Tim heard the explosions right before he dived under the ticket counter. It looked to be the sturdiest things around and his options were very limited. It was only seconds before the ceiling and walls around him began to crumble and collapse._

_Tim cried out in pain as he felt the ticket counter collapse partly still keeping his heard protected but exposing his lower body to first felt smaller, then much larger chunks of the building. He wondered how much time before the wood guarding his head gave way ending it all._

_He didn't worry long. The pain and pressure on his lower back and legs became more than he could bear and darkness consumed him._

* * *

><p>Tony walked into the waiting room having gone as far with his friend as the hospital staff would let him. He looked years older than when he had stepped on the ambulance. Gibbs and Ziva were there waiting and quickly walked over to him.<p>

"How is he?" Ziva asked quietly.

"Breathing was really bad, probably from being trapped with all that dust for so long. His legs-," Tony faltered. "His legs looked really bad." He took a deep breath. "He asked, wanted to make sure Emily was ok and we were able to stop the terrorist plot. He knew the other man Ben was dead. He feels guilty Boss." Tony stated remembering the look in his friend's eyes.

"Did he say that?"

"Didn't need to, I've seen that look a hundred time. Survivor's guilt is pretty easy to spot."

Gibbs nodded and went to sit down, his head in his hands. He couldn't shake the feeling of reaching for his agent's neck to try and find a pulse. Yes he had found what he was looking for but the skin beneath his hands had been cold, like the skin of a corpse…

* * *

><p><em>A stabbing pain in his back slowly woke Tim. He was slightly surprised to still be alive. He had no idea how long he had been out and had no way to know. He gradually became more aware and heard scraping and muffled yelling. He attempted to call out for help briefly but found the attempt sent him into an uncontrollable coughing fit. The air was heavy and chocked with dust. Shallow breaths inhaled through the material of his shirt were the only way to get relief.<em>

_Tim jumped when he suddenly heard a different sound. He soon realized it was a piece of equipment, no doubt brought in to move the slabs that human strength couldn't touch. He listened feeling strangely lulled by the steady sound of work outside the walls._

_It suddenly struck him that his legs didn't hurt anymore. Dread welled up in the pit of his stomach when he realized the relief from pain was because he couldn't feel anything beyond his lower back. He pushed down the rising bile in his throat and tried to stall the fear that threatened to overtake him._

* * *

><p>Gibbs heard before he saw. The clomp of large platform boots were unmistakable on the hospital's tile floor. He stood ready to catch her when she came charging into the room.<p>

"Gibbs!" She flew into his arms. She was followed by Ducky who was panting slightly at having to keep up with the highly motivated woman, Palmer was behind him.

"Gibbs! Thank God, Timmy's out! I was so worried. He's ok right?" She studied his eyes. "Right? Tell me he's fine Gibbs."

"I don't know yet Abbs." He said quietly.

Abby sighed and sank down fresh tears welling in her eyes. Ziva came to wrap her in a hug.

"What do we know Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"Tony probably knows the best, he was in the ambulance with him on the way in." Gibbs said.

The three newcomers focused on Tony.

"He was trapped in the dust for a long time. The medic was pretty surprised he was breathing on his own." Tony twisted his hands while looking down. "His legs took the brunt of most of the fall of the building. They looked pretty bad." He said softly.

"Was there any damage to his head?" Ducky asked.

"No, his head was protected." Ziva said.

"That's good news." Palmer spoke up.

"It's not going to matter much if he stops breathing." Tony snapped causing Jimmy to step back slightly.

"Of course not Anthony," Ducky said stepping in, "but head injuries are the most tedious to treat and have the highest risk of complications. They are common of earthquake victims so he was fortunate to escape that being added on to his other injuries. I'm sure that was all Mr. Palmer was saying."

Tony opened his mouth to say something else, but Gibbs shook his head.

"We're all tired; it's been a long day. Let's not end it by getting kicked out of the hospital for causing a disturbance."

Tony nodded and looked at Palmer's noting the concern in his eyes.

"Sorry Palmer, I just…"

"It's ok Tony. I know you're worried."

"Indeed, loyalty to one's friend is never cause for shame." Ducky said with a small smile.

* * *

><p><em>Laying there Tim had time to think and he suddenly became overwhelmed with thoughts of Ben and the image of his body laying there still and unmoving. He had scarified himself for Tim and Emily without a second thought.<em>

_Tim began to silently ream himself out for leaving the man. Gibbs would never have left him, neither would Tony. They would have found a way for it all to work out. Tim lay in the quiet, shaking, letting a few tears escape from his eyes overwhelmed by the unfairness of it all. Ben hadn't deserved to die. He had been the calming presence in the whole situation and he had faced his final moments alone. Now he was buried beneath the rubble of a building as if he were nothing._

_The emotions welling up combined with isolation, pain, and fear began to play on Tim's mind the longer he waited. There were several brief intervals when he could hear no sound. To his exhausted consciousness there were several explanations._

_Gibbs surely by this point had put together the pieces and realized that Ben was dead. He was no doubt disappointed that Tim had disobeyed one of his rules and left a man behind. Tony and Ziva probably felt the same way. In his mind any one of his team members would have defused the situation better than he._

_He felt a ripple of panic. What if they had left him? What if they had decided it was too late or worse, that he wasn't worth saving? The panicked breathing these thought caused soon resulted in another coughing fit worse than the last until the only thing he could think of was breathing._

* * *

><p>Gibbs stepped outside to make a call he dreaded. He wanted to wait until he had some news to give the McGees but the longer they waited the more he felt guilty about not calling. Three hours in he finally bit the bullet and headed for the door.<p>

He called Vance's secretary for the number and then slowly dialed the number, letting it ring. Finally as he was about to hang up the phone was answered.

"McGee residence."

The voice sounded familiar.

"Sarah?"

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath.

"It's Agent Gibbs. I-."

"Agent Gibbs! I've been trying to call Tim all day! Where is he? I saw the explosion, oh my gosh, it was so close to you all. Is he there, can I talk to him?"

"Sarah-."

"He's not hurt is he? Why isn't he calling me?"

"Sarah, Sarah listen to me." Gibbs said sharply to get her attention. "We are at Bethesda now, waiting to hear how he is. He was trapped Union Station when is collapsed, but he was alive when we pulled him out." He waited and listened as soft sobs came over the phone. "Sarah, where are your parents?" He asked softly.

"Visiting family in Ireland." she sniffed. "I'm house sitting for them."

"Do you want me to send an agent to get you?" Gibbs offered.

"Would-would you please? I don't know if I can-can get there."

"Of course."

After he hung up with Sarah, Gibbs made arrangements and headed back to the waiting room. He was not surprised to find Fornell taking quietly to Ducky.

Gibbs nodded to the man as he sat down across from him.

"They let you go, Tobias?"

"I did my part; it's up to the cleaning crew now. Thought I'd stop by here before I start the paperwork hell this has created."

Gibbs nodded and smiled faintly into his coffee cup, waiting a moment to speak.

"Thanks for everything Tobias." Gibbs said sincerely.

"Wasn't me, McGee seems to have done all the hard work. You mind if I stay for an update?" Fornell asked.

"Not at all, make yourself at home."

* * *

><p><em>He was so cold. It hadn't been a cold day and the heat from the building should be keeping him warm but his body was wracked with shivers. He still couldn't feel his legs, a sensation he was almost strangely grateful for only because of the pain it had caused earlier.<em>

_He continued to shake not realizing he was going into shock because of the trauma inflicted on his body. The struggle to breathe was becoming too much and he slipped into unconsciousness minutes before Ziva's hand would touch his foot._

* * *

><p>Gibbs paced the waiting room. Abby had fallen asleep on Tony shoulder and Ziva was pretending to try to focus long enough to read a magazine. Jimmy sat beside her twiddling his thumbs.<p>

Ducky was the first to notice a man in scrubs push the door open to the waiting room. He quickly got up as the man headed their way. Gibbs, Ziva, and Jimmy weren't far behind. Tony woke Abby and she quickly popped up when she realized who was here. Fornell also started that way, but lingered in the background, not wanting to intrude.

"Are you all here for Timothy McGee?" The doctor asked looking at his chart.

"Yes!" Abby replied bouncing from anxiety. How is he?"

The doctor looked at his chart again.

"Why don't we sit down?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey people.<strong>

**Thank you so much for reading. The response has overwhelmed me. I appreciate all the reviews and story alerts. :)**

**I hope the going back and forth between Tim past and team present wasn't too distracting. I kind of like how the chapter turned out myself, formatting wise.**

**Happy Monday and I hope you all have a great week!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I want to put a disclaimer on this. I am not comfortable at all with medical/hospital chapters. I thought I would get better but I think I've actually come to dread them more. Nevertheless here it is. Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter (cue evil laugh). :)**

**Thanks shialuv222 for catching my mistakes!**

* * *

><p>Once they had all resumed their seats, they again looked to the doctor. He began pulling out x-rays from a file folder he had with him.<p>

"Please forgive me." He said as he began laying them on the table. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm Dr. Aaron Jackson. I was the operating doctor during Agent McGee's surgery."

"How is he?" Abby asked impatiently.

Dr. Jackson took a deep breath and began ticking off on his fingers.

"We had three big problems when he came in: breathing, legs, and lower back. There were other minor injuries including a dislocated elbow, but those three were our main focus. Many of his injuries were consistent with those of an earthquake victim so we're not without precedent."

Dr. Jackson indicated the pictures. "These are the x-rays. As you can see he has multiple breaks and fractures in both his legs and several of the vertebras in his lower back were fractured as well."

"He was in very serious condition when he came in, bleeding internally and in shock from the damage inflicted on his body. We were in surgery to stop the bleeding and to control and access the situation of his lower body. His lungs were another concern. Luckily we didn't have to put him on a respiratory. His lungs are responding positively with just an oxygen mask. It will probably take a while for the lingering cough and shortness of breath to clear up, but I don't foresee it being a problem."

"Fortunately we didn't have to worry about a head injury with is actually quite amazing considering the circumstances." Dr. Jackson continued shaking his head.

"What about his legs?" Gibbs asked directing the conversation back to the part he found most disturbing.

"Well…it's too early to tell. We need him to wake up to assess if he had any feeling in them and to what extent. I've ordered an EMG, but we won't have the results until in the morning."

Noticing the looks around him he decided to elaborate.

"As I said before, what he endured is very similar to what an earthquake victim goes through. They're trapped, breathing dust and sediment which usually affects their lungs. Extremities are pinned for long periods of time cutting off circulation and causing other damage. We've given him several liters of fluids to help but we can only do so much. We need the results of the EMG and most importantly need Agent McGee to tell us the extent of his feeling in his lower body."

"We set the breaks in his legs as much as we dared, considering the possible nerve damage. They aren't in a cast yet, we'll wait to do that when we find out our situation. He has…numerous lacerations, bruises, and cuts on his legs. The worst of the damage is to the back where I assume the pieces of the building were making contact."

"Doctor," Ducky spoke up, "I realize your delicate position of trying to be realistic while at the same time positive for the loved ones of patients however I believe we would all appreciate your frankness in the matter."

Dr. Jackson looked around and sighed.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you to expect. I'm told he was trapped for over two hours. I've seen patients trapped for longer who regain full use of their limbs and I've seen patients trapped for thirty minutes who are paralyzed. It all depends."

"On where the nerves were pressed." Ducky said contemplatively.

"Exactly."

"Did he respond to any stimuli to his legs?" Ducky asked.

Dr. Jackson looked at the hopeful faces around him and frowned.

"Agent McGee was not responding to stimuli to his feet or legs when he was brought in."

Tony turned away not wanting to hear anymore. Big tears started to roll down Abby's cheek, even Ziva turned noticeably pale.

"Can we see him?" Abby whispered brokenly.

"He should be settled into a room in about twenty minutes. He'll be sedated so he shouldn't wake up tonight. You can see him for a few minutes and then one or two people can stay the night. I'll have a nurse come out and get you."

With that he left. Each member seemed lost in their own thoughts. Fornell cleared his throat and Gibbs started a little, having forgotten he was there. Fornell came and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm going now. Keep me updated, will ya?"

"Yeah, Tobias, I will."

Gibbs watched him leave before turning around.

"Ducky?" Gibbs asked. Many years of working together had allowed their communication to require very little words…on Gibbs' part anyway. Ducky took his glasses off and began wiped them.

"It's as the good doctor said. It all depends on how long and where his nerves were pressed. I myself almost feel guilty for how relieved I am."

"Relieved? About what?" Gibbs asked with narrow eyes.

"Jethro, do you realized the beating his head could have taken had it been exposed. He would have been killed or certainly sustained a fractured skull that I'm not sure could have been healed." He said in a low voice.

"Afraid someone will hear you Duck?" Gibbs asked smirking a little.

"I hardly think Anthony or Abigail would appreciate my opinion." Ducky said smiling ruefully.

Gibbs scoffed.

"No probably not."

A nurse stepped through the doors and began walking toward them.

"If you're here for Agent McGee, you can all follow me to his room." She said to the group.

"We can all go?" Jimmy asked surprised.

"He's asleep and won't wake tonight so the doctor didn't think it would be a problem. You can only stay for a little while though and then someone can spend the night with him." The nurse explained.

They followed silently down the hall, each bracing themselves to see their friend.

Gibbs got to the door of the room first and walked in. The sheets were pulled back from McGee's legs and a nurse was adjusting some bandages. She quickly pulled the sheets down but not before Gibbs saw the extent of the damage he hadn't been able to see at the scene. He had expected his agent's legs to look bad, but this was worse than he had imagined.

McGee's feet were in decent condition having been protected by his shoes, but there was not one place on either of his legs that was untouched either by a bruise, a cut, or a deep gash that had been stitched.

Gibbs shook his head, it would almost be better if McGee awoke without feeling in his legs right away. He would be in a lot of pain for quite a while if the look of the wounds were any indication.

The nurse quickly left with a murmured apology. Gibbs walked the rest of the way into the room to allow the others access. Abby started crying again once she was able to glimpse the patient in the bed.

Tim looked so pale and weak lying in the hospital bed. IV's were in his left arm, one with fluid and one with blood. His right arm was in a brace at the elbow. The oxygen mask over his face made him look very ill and the machine monitoring his vitals only emphasized the current dire situation.

Abby tentatively walked to his side and took his hand, squeezing softly and rubbing circles with her thumb.

"Timmy…" She swallowed and started again.

"I'm so, so glad you're alive, but you have to wake up and move your legs ok? Please." He didn't move only continued to breathe steadily. Suddenly he coughed in her sleep making her jump a little. She looked pleadingly at Gibbs.

"Gibbs can I please stay the night with him? Please?"

"Yeah Abbs." Gibbs replied not taking his eyes off his agent.

Ducky had taken McGee's chart and he and Jimmy were reading it over.

"How's it look Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Much like Dr. Jackson explained. We just have to wait." He put the chart down and came to pat McGee's arm. "You'll be alright lad, just keep fighting a little while longer. We'll help you through as much as we can."

Satisfied, he turned to the group.

"I'm going back to the Navy Yard, I'll be happy to give anyone a ride who needs it." He offered.

"Who is staying?" Ziva asked.

"I am," Gibbs said, "and it sounds like Abby called dibs earlier.

Tony frowned.

"You can come back in the morning if you want to Tony." Gibbs said noticing the look.

"You'll call me if anything happens?" Tony asked searching for confirmation.

"I will, he'll just sleep tonight so you won't miss anything."

"Maybe I could sleep in the waiting room." Tony said thoughtfully.

"No, no young man. That won't do at all." Ducky scolded. "If you wish you can stay with me, I'll be driving in first thing and you're welcome to catch a lift."

"But-."

"Do it, Tony." Gibbs said rubbing his head.

"Ok, Boss." He grinned weakly at Ducky. "Alright, sleep over at Ducky's house. We can tell ghost stories, watch movies, toilet paper the neighbor's lawn…"

"Or we could sleep." Ducky chuckled.

"That's not why it's called a sleep over Ducky." Tony protested.

"Tony," Ziva said. "I would hate for McGee to have to wake up just to tell you to shut it."

"I would too." Gibbs said sternly. "Good night, all of you."

Ziva came to McGee's side and placed a kiss on the side of her head before saying good night. Tony lingered in the doorway until she pulled him out with her.

With everyone gone, Gibbs and Abby each took a chair on either side of McGee's bed to keep vigil. After several hours, Abby sat up straighter.

"Gibbs, Gibbs! He's waking up." She said pointing excitedly.

They both watched McGee's eyeslids began to flutter, as he tried desperately to drag them open. His brow furrowed as he began to cough weakly. Abby quickly made her way to one side of the bed while Gibbs took his position at the other.

"McGee? Timmy can you hear me. Come on, McGee wake up."

After watching several minutes of Abby trying to coax McGee to open his eyes to no avail, Gibbs made up his mind.

"That's enough Abby ." He said gently.

He rested his hand on McGee's head and leaned to talk in softly in his ear.

"McGee, it's ok son. Go back to sleep for a little longer. Just rest and wake up when you're ready." He had said keeping the gentle pressure on the top of his agent's head.

Slowly the eyelids stopped fluttering and he was pulled back into sleep.

"Now what?" Abby asked dejectedly.

"We wait, Abby, just wait."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked it. You've been so kind in your reviews. Thank you so much! If you are medically inclined and I got anything wrong feel free to blast me in a review.<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry this is late, had a hard time writing it. Why would that be? Oh yeah, it's a hospital scene. Thanks to those who reviewed for the encouragement by the way, it was very very nice. :)**

**Thank you shialuvr222 for betaing this and thank you also jerseybelle for answering my medical questions. It definitely helped. :)**

* * *

><p>Gibbs was surprised the next morning when Ziva was the first to show up with three coffees in hand. He gratefully accepted a cup while she set the other two on the table. Sarah had arrived during the night and she and Abby were sound asleep in two hospital chairs. Ziva smiled at the girls before turning her attention to the man in the bed.<p>

"How is he Gibbs?"

"The same."

"Did he wake at all?"

"No, tried to right after you all left but it was too much too soon."

Ziva nodded and unconsciously straightened the sheets around McGee.

"You beat Tony and Ducky here." Gibbs observed.

"Tony is not the early eagle that I am Gibbs." Ziva said with a small smile.

"Early bird Ziva." He said taking a sip of coffee.

"An eagle is a bird, yes, so I should be correct." She countered.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her and just shook his head.

"He was very brave." Ziva said almost to herself. Gibbs stayed quiet and let her talk. "Americans know so little of the everyday fear terror attacks and yet he…handled it…so well." She gently let the backs of her fingers run along the side of his face. She allowed her fingers linger a bit before she pulled her hand back and turned to Gibbs.

"I am going into work to finish the last of the paperwork to transfer the case we were on when this happened. The case has been given to Agent Larkin's team."

"Good."

"I will come back when I am finished, yes?"

Though she phrased it as a question Gibbs knew she was coming back no matter what he said so he just smiled into his coffee and nodded.

Tony chose that moment to enter the room, followed by the Dr. Jackson and Ducky. He quickly walked over to his friend.

"Is he any better?" He asked searching for any sign of improvement.

"Well Tony, it seems you've brought the man who can tell us that." Gibbs smirked.

"Oh yeah." Tony said realizing he was blocking Dr. Jackson from the bed and quickly scooted out of the way.

"Good morning." Dr. Jackson said nodding to the agents and smiling slightly at the sleeping girls before turning to his patient.

"Jethro," Ducky said. "Dr. Jackson and I have just been discussing the results of Timothy's EMG. It seems quite favorable under the circumstances."

The conversation roused Abby who began to stir and stretch.

"Hey guys." She yawned. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing yet Abbs." Tony said. "Waiting for the doctor to tell us."

Abby leaned over and gently shook Sarah knowing she would want to be a part of what was going on. She had arrived the night before with a brave face plastered on in case her brother was awake and needed her, in a reversal of their usual roles, to be strong for him. Seeing him unconscious and injured however had quickly brought the mask down.

Abby was much better with this type of emotion than Gibbs, but that didn't stop him from describing for Sarah exactly what her brother had done and gone through to receive his injuries. Hearing the pride in the voice of the man her brother looked up to so much had done a great deal to calm her.

Sarah knew Tim would have a long way to go but was thankful his team would be with him. She had fallen asleep listening to the gentle beeps of the machines as they lulled her to sleep assuring Sarah that her brother was alive.

She slowly woke up when someone shook her shoulder. It took her a moment to register where she was and who all the strange faces around her were, but when her eyes fell on Tim she immediately sat up.

"How is he?" She asked anxiously.

"That's the million dollar question." Tony answered.

Dr. Jackson straightened.

"Well as Dr. Mallard said the EMG results came back fairly positively. There is a great deal of bruising and swelling around his back and legs. We've administered steroids to reduce the swelling but we'll need to wait for that to recede to determine if there's any more damage."

"Shouldn't he be on his stomach because of the bruising and his back?" Tony asked confused.

"Normally we would do that, but respiration takes precedent over everything else. He'll breathe better on his back like he is." Dr. Jackson explained.

"The breaks on his spine, they can heal and he'll be able to walk right?" Sarah asked searching his eyes for some hope.

"With no nerve damage, yes, they will be able to heal baring no further aggravation. As for walking, it will take a lot of recovery time and a lot of therapy." He gently explained.

Sarah slumped in her seat but nodded.

"His breathing is about the same so that's all the news I can give until he wakes up. I wish I could tell you more." Dr. Jackson smiled apologetically at the group.

Ducky cleared his throat.

"Well Jethro, I'm heading in to work but will stop by later to see how the lad's holding up. Call me should he awake."

Gibbs nodded.

"Will do Duck."

"I am going in also Ducky." Ziva said. "Perhaps we could come back together."

"That would be lovely my dear." Ducky smiled and held out his arm, Ziva returned the smile as she took it.

"I can stay right Boss?" Tony asked hopefully.

"Yeah you stay with McGee while Abby goes home and Sarah and I take a break."

"Gibbs!"

"Agent Gibbs I can't-."

Gibbs held up his hand to stave off anymore protests.

"Abby you need to go home and get some rest and Sarah you brother wouldn't want you sitting here worrying about him and not taking care of yourself would he?" He asked giving her a look.

She immediately closed her mouth knowing the man was exactly right about how Tim would feel.

After a few more minutes of protest Abby only allowed Gibbs to guide her out of the room with the promise that she could come back after she had slept and eaten. Gibbs sighed as he put her on the elevator and the doors slid closed. He now turned his attention to the girl next to him.

"Come on Sarah." Gibbs said gently taking her arm. "I'll buy you some breakfast."

* * *

><p>It was later that day Gibbs and Ziva were sitting in Tim's room. Sarah had gone to stretch her legs, accompanied by Ducky and Tony. Gibbs had taken a short break but he wanted to be with his agent when he woke up so he had determined not to leave until he opened his eyes and acknowledged him.<p>

Suddenly Tim's eyelids began to flutter as they had the night before, but this time his head started turning slightly and a small moan escaped his throat. That brought Gibbs out of his chair and to his side. He leaned down as two green eyes opened half way and tried to focus.

"McGee, you with us?" Gibbs asked moving into his line of sight.

"Boss…" Tim rasped and immediately began coughing. Gibbs reached for a cup of ice and moved the oxygen mask down for a moment.

"Ice, Tim, it'll help your throat." He slid a piece of ice into his mouth before moving the mask back into place.

"Thanks." McGee wheezed.

"How are you feeling McGee?" Ziva asked touching his hand.

"Tired..."

"I imagine so." she said with a small smile.

"Where…?" His eyes darted around to take in his surroundings.

"You're at the hospital Tim." Gibbs said. "There was an explosion remember?"

His brow furrowed.

"Union Station." He finally said.

Gibbs nodded encouragingly. "That's right." He hesitated, torn between letting his agent rest and the overwhelming need to verify the extent of his injuries.

Tim's eyes wandered and he didn't appear to be going back to sleep so Gibbs took a deep breath and pressed forward.

"Tim." He prompted bringing the young man's eyes back to him. "Can you move your foot?"

Tim gave him a funny look.

"Why?"

"Just try Tim." His tone scared McGee. Not because it was harsh and demanding, but because it was exactly the opposite. He frowned.

"Will you please try"? Gibbs asked again very patiently.

Too patiently and he said please sending off more warning bells to McGee. However he had no logical reason to refuse the request. He sent the message to his foot to move and was surprised when nothing happened. Furrowing his brow in concentration he tried again and this time noticed that he couldn't feel anything below his waist.

Tim frantically tried to rise out of bed.

"I-I can't, I can't feel…"

His breathing hitched as he started to panic.

Ziva had stood back content to let Gibbs handle the tedious exchange, but seeing her friend seized by a coughing fit she quickly found the call button to call and pressed it.

A nurse stepped in the room to assess the situation, left and then returned to administer a sedative into his IV while turning up the level of oxygen flowing to the mask. After a few seconds Tim began to calm down.

"Tim." Gibbs said gripping his shoulders to ground him and get him to focus. "We're going to get you through this. There's some swelling around your spinal cord, but it will go down, this isn't the way it's going to be."

He had meant to be encouraging so he was slightly surprised when his agent's eyes filled with tears.

"It's ok Boss. I deserve this." Tim said his voice low and rough from the coughing and strain.

Gibbs was rarely too shocked for words, but he certainly was now.

"Why do you say that McGee?" he asked carefully.

"I left him to die." he said so softly Gibbs almost didn't hear and Ziva leaned forward to catch his words. McGee locked eyes with Gibbs and the pain and sorrow in them almost took his breath away.

"I left Ben to die Boss. This," he said indicating his legs, "this is the least I deserve."

Gibbs felt his anger grow, anger not at McGee, but the terrorists group who had put two good men in an impossible situation where their only options were to die or live with heartrending decisions.

"Hey!" Gibbs said sharply. McGee flinched but didn't take his eyes off his legs. "Look at me McGee."

Two droopy eyes met his and he knew he only had a few seconds to make his point before McGee was unconscious again.

"You did you job, you did a damn good job and I'm proud of you. You didn't do anything wrong Tim." He whispered fiercely.

McGee shook his head before head before his eyes slid closed as the sedative relaxed him enough for his exhaustion to draw him back into sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all so much for reading!<strong>

**So I made myself write 500 words at a time when I sat down. I have heard that is a way to overcome writer's block if you just force yourself to write something. Hope it turned out ok. Any suggestions just let me know. :)**

**Hopefully putting up this chapter will help me regroup and write quicker next time. (Finger crossed)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the delayed update. Hope you guys are still with me. I know I keep repeating myself but thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. :)**

* * *

><p>Gibbs stood in horror as he watched the younger man drift back to sleep. It floored him to think McGee was carrying such a heavy burden of guilt that he thought he deserved to be crippled to atone for the sin of surviving.<p>

He glanced back at Ziva and saw the shock on her face mixed with sadness. She looked up to see Gibbs looking at her and she abruptly turned and left the room nearly bumping into Sarah as she came in.

"I just called my parents and-. What happened? Is everything ok?" She asked seeing how Gibbs was staring at her brother and taking note of Ziva's quickly retreating form.

Gibbs turned to face her.

"Tim woke up."

"Really! That's great. Could he feel his legs?" She asked hopefully.

Ducky came in right behind her and stood quietly waiting for the answer.

"No Sarah he couldn't." Gibbs said quietly taking a step closer to her and wrapping her in a hug.

Her face fell and tears formed in her eyes causing Ducky quickly stepped in.

"My dear I'm sure there is still swelling, we can't give up hope yet." He said with his hand on her shoulder.

Sarah looked up and searched Gibbs' eyes.

"Is something else wrong?" She asked nervously.

Gibbs glanced at Ducky before turning his full attention to Sarah.

"Tim blames himself for the not saving the other hostage that was with them." He said knowing it was best to avoid beating around the bush.

"What? Why?" She asked her head whipping around to look at her brother.

"He said he left him there to die." Gibbs explained.

"What does he mean? What happened?"

"I don't know Sarah. Maybe when he wakes up he can tell us."

Sarah was got very quiet, thinking. She sighed and turned back to her brother's bed and pulling up a chair beside it. She took his hand in hers and began gently stroking it.

Gibbs took a step toward her, but Ducky put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you take a break my friend? I will stay with them."

Gibbs nodded.

"Wait." Sarah said suddenly letting go of Tim's hand and turning to face Gibbs. "I'm not questioning my brother's actions Agent Gibbs but why did he leave him."

Gibbs frowned a little and Sarah quickly continued.

"I don't blame Tim at all. I know he did everything in his power to save as many people as he could. You told me as much last night and even if you didn't I know my brother, but so do you. If we're going to understand him and help, we have to know all the facts." She smiled sadly. "Tim lives on logic and sometimes facts are the only thing that can get through his hard head."

The senior agent exchanged glances with Ducky who nodded in affirmation.

"She is correct Jethro, you know as well as I do."

"Agent Gibbs what actually did happen?" Sarah asked quietly.

Gibbs answered slowly as his mind whirled with an idea. "There are only two people alive who know that Sarah, only two."

* * *

><p>Tony was heading to Tim's room when he was almost bowled over by Ziva as she was rushing away.<p>

"Hey ninja how M-?" Tony stopped mid sentence when she didn't even slow down as she stormed to the exit.

He stared at the exit door now swinging from the force known as Ziva, then looked up the hall to Tim's room, and then back down the hall.

"Don't worry guys I got it." He said raising his hands to an audience that wasn't there. He quickly followed the path Ziva had taken and found her sitting in the waiting room staring at a coffee table.

"What happened?" He asked anxiously.

"McGee woke up." She said stoically.

"That's great, how-?" Tony stopped as the realization of Ziva's demeanor dawned on him. "He couldn't feel his legs could he?" He asked quietly.

She slowly shook her head.

"The doctor seemed pretty confident the swelling will go down and he'll regain use of his legs. Maybe we just have to give him time. It's like that movie-."

"Tony, McGee was feeling very guilty when he awoke. He said being paralyzed is what he deserved for leaving the other hostage." Ziva said bluntly interrupting him, her tone bitter.

Tony let his mind click through the ramifications.

"We can help him." He said slowly. She didn't look at him and he reached out and touched her shoulder. "Ziva, we can't make this go away but we can make sure he knows it's not his fault, that we're there for him when he needs us."

"Tony," she said quietly her eyes unusually bright "I have seen things like this destroy people, and McGee deserves that less than anyone"

"And I've seen things like this only make people stronger." He countered.

"It is bad enough that this should have happened at all, but for McGee to feel guilt where there is none is-is wrong."

Tony looked back toward McGee's room. "You know we really need McVocabulary here cause frankly you suck at it."

She looked at him stunned.

"I mean "wrong"? How about the height of injustice or-or oh I don't know that's why we need him." 'Tony said emphatically.

"You-you are making a joke." She said in disbelief.

"Ziva I know this is bad and I don't want to down play it and it's probably wrong for me to feel this way, but I gotta be honest."

She looked at him expectantly and the small smile that graced his face.

"I'm just thrilled he's alive." Tony finally admitted. "I mean when we heard what happened, I didn't think there was any way-." He shrugged.

Ziva smiled sadly. "If we are being honest, then I am as well."

Tony put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll get him through it. We're a family."

Ziva smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek.

* * *

><p>Gibbs got off the phone.<p>

"Well?" Abby asked impatiently.

She had arrived shortly after Sarah and Ducky and was more than a little miffed to have missed her Timmy waking up. Gibbs assured her he had not been awake long and wasn't really in the mood for hugs. Sarah quickly filled her in on the plan Gibbs had suggested. They both waited anxiously for Gibbs to give them the news.

"They've left town for a few days to try and relax, but Mr. Loudon said they could be back here tomorrow morning." Gibbs said shutting his phone.

"Couldn't they tell you over the phone?" Sarah asked.

"Interviews are best done in person." Ducky said

Gibbs nodded and then chastised himself for forgetting an earlier mention.

"Sarah, you said you called your parents?"

"Yes, sir. They've had a little flooding where they are and some of the roads are washed out, but they're going to leave on the next flight they can get. They probably won't be here until tomorrow night." She smiled sadly. "Mom was pretty frantic. Dad was trying to calm her down but I don't think it was doing much good."

"What did the doctor say Ducky and how long will he sleep?" Abby asked.

"The doctor was…disappointed but not surprised or that he couldn't feel his legs. I dislike sounding like a broken record, but-."

"I know wait for the swelling to go down." Abby sighed and plopped in a chair beside Tim's bed.

Ducky smiled indulgently at the woman. "Yes, I'm afraid Timothy will be in quite a bit of pain when the feeling does return what with the numerous abrasions and bruises he suffered."

"You said when." Sarah said quickly.

"Dr. Mallard ever the optimist." Gibbs said dryly earning a glare from Abby.

Ducky smiled. "As far as waking up, it's hard to say my dear. He has no serious head injury, however the rest of his body did go through a great deal of trauma. It wasn't long ago they sedated him but according to his chart it wasn't much. If his subconscious tells him he can face the world then he will. I'm most worried about his lack of movement and breathing."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked alarmed.

"Usually patients are encouraged to move around as much as possible to avoid pneumonia settling into his lungs. Timothy is obviously not able to get up and walk and his lungs are still recovering from the sediment he inhaled. I know the doctors are carefully watching for a respiratory infection."

Sarah sighed and put her head in hands. Just one more thing to worry about, it seemed as though the list was growing. Abby nodded at Ducky and leaned down to kiss the man in the bed. She knew it was serious but he did look much better than when he was brought in. His face had regained a little color and thought the worry of respiratory problems lingered he did appear to be breathing better.

They all settled in to wait and since the team had been given the weekend off they were soon joined by Tony and Ziva as the little family continued its vigil.

* * *

><p>Tim heard voices long before he was able to drag himself awake. He stayed there suspended between unconscious and conscious gaining the strength to join the world and just enjoying the state of limbo. It didn't last however and he soon heard him name as someone notice the change in his breathing and heart beat signaling he was no longer sleeping.<p>

"Tim? Tim can you wake up?"

He opened his eyes to find the bedside crowded with people. Ducky, Tony, Ziva, and Abby were all there. He looked to his right and found Sarah

"Sarah" He whispered and reached for her. She smiled and took his hand.

"Hey big brother, you ok?"

"I…guess."

She smiled at him again. "Mom and dad are coming in, they should be here tomorrow night."

"Shouldn't have bothered them." He rasped prompting Sarah to bring a straw to his lips. She rolled her eyes playfully

"Oh yeah right, like I would want to face the wrath of Mom for not calling her when one of her babies is in the hospital."

As hoped that elicited a small smile. Abby stepped up timidly. Tim smiled weakly at her and it was enough as she reached in to gently hug him.

"Timmy! I was so scared. You can't ever scare me like that again. I'm never allowing you to leave NCIS. I'm never allowing any of you to leave NCIS every again."

She had meant it partly as a joke to make him smile so she was sadly disappointed and a little worried when he averted his eyes and looked down at his hands as he spoke quietly.

"It would probably be best if I were never allowed in the field again."

"What?" Abby asked in surprise

Tony stepped up quickly.

"You did a good job out there, Tim a really really great job."

"Tony is correct." Ziva said quietly. "You did the best you could given the circumstances."

"You can't always save everyone Probie." Tony added and immediately kicked himself when Tim's head shot up and green eyes glared at him, self-loathing brimming over.

"You could have saved him." Tim said almost accusingly causing Tony to step back. "Or Gibbs or Ziva, but I left him like coward. He died because _I_ left him."

The effort was exhausting him and he began to cough, doubling over trying to breath.

Ducky stepped to the bed and placing a hand on McGee's shoulder and gently admonished him to calm down and take deep breaths.

"That's it lad." He said as he eased him back. "Good, deep breaths. Very good. You mustn't excite yourself until you're a little better. Now however that I have your attention I would like to tell you about your condition even though you seem to have no interest yourself."

He paused to make sure he still had his attention and continued.

"I assume you still can't feel anything below your waist?"

The shaking of the head was expected and he continued.

"It's nothing to be alarmed about presently, when the swelling goes down we will see where we are. Postitive thoughts lad can you do that?"

Tim started at him.

"Yeah he'll do it Ducky." Gibbs said coming into the room so quietly it caused Tony to jump. Gibbs frowned at the flushed face. He placed his hand on Tim's forehead.

"He feels kind of warm Duck." He said earning him an eye roll from his younger agent.

"I noticed as well. It could be from any number of things Jethro, trauma or maybe an infection. I'll check with the doctor."

"Tim." Gibbs said leaning over to his eye level and making sure he was looking at him. "You're going to get through this because we're going to help you. Got it?"

Tim still didn't say anything. Gibbs could read clearly in his eyes the shame and knew how heavily the burden of guilt weighed on the young man. He remembered back to when Erin, a witness, had been killed and then again when a deranged fan was killing because of Tim's books.

The look had been present then and Gibbs knew this time it would be harder. His physical injuries would make it more difficult to recover mentally but Gibbs resigned himself that if it took years of telling Tim every day it wasn't his fault then that's what he would do.

The key would be to find out what Tim thought happened. Where he believe he went wrong. Then they could get Emily's version of the story and sort out the atmosphere at the time and what had actually happened. McGee's breathing was easier so he decided this was as good a time to start as any.

"I want you to tell me what happened McGee, tell me what happened after all the hostages were released but you three. Can you do that now?"

Tim's eyes swept the room before returning to the blue ones surprisingly filled with compassion and kindness, with no traces of their usual gruffness.

Gibbs saw the hesitation and sadly knew where it was coming from: disgrace he had no right to be burdened with.

"Do you want to do that with everyone here or just you and me?"

"Just you Boss, please." He pleaded softly.

The team filed out of the room. Tim refused to look at them. Sarah lingered back a little not wanting to leave her brother but a pointed look from Gibbs sent her away. Gibbs followed and shut the door behind them. He walked to his agent's bed and sat down, reaching out he placed his hand on Tim's arm in a show of support.

"Ok Tim, tell me what happened."

* * *

><p><strong>I don't really have much to say except thank you all again for taking the time. :)<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**I want to apologize. I sincerely meant to respond to every review, but I am so very far behind. :( If you have reviewed, thank you very very much. They are always so encouraging and help me to write. Thank you also for those who have alerted and taken the time to read the story. :)**

**This a fairly long chapter but I hated to break it up.**

* * *

><p>McGee was clearly flagging by the time his tale was done. Gibbs was very tempted to let him sleep, but he knew he needed to bind wounds where he could.<p>

"Tim-."

"Just say it." He said abruptly.

"Say what?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Tell me you're disappointed."

Gibbs studied him.

"Would you be disappointed if you were in my position?"

"Yes." Tim said dejectedly.

"You would you be disappointed in one of your team who did everything they could, who saved thousands of people and had to leave one man behind? Think about it because if you say yes," Gibbs shook his head seriously, "I'll never be able recommend you as a team leader knowing the impossible demands you would put on a group of agent. I'm tough, but I never expect something like that from any of you."

"I left him, Boss." Tim said forcefully.

"Didn't sound to me like you had a choice."

"Yes I know it was a bad situation, but I left him and they shot him because of that."

"You honestly think they were going to let you go McGee?"

McGee opened his mouth to answer and then shut it shaking his head.

"Right, the answer is no. You were not getting out of there alive, doesn't matter what you did or didn't do."

"Have you ever left someone?" McGee asked quietly.

"Yes."

Tim looked up in surprise.

"I have been in combat where there is no other choice. It's the worst situation to be in, but that's life sometimes there is no other way." Gibbs said somberly.

"I'm not ready to accept that." Tim said adamantly.

"I know Tim. But I told you before you'll get there and we, your team, will help you."

Tim nodded.

"Why don't you get some sleep? Someone will be here with you ok."

He nodded again. Gibbs put a hand on his forehead and searched his eyes before sitting back in the chair as McGee drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Ziva stood in front of the drink machine not really seeing the selection when she heard a commotion by the door. She turned to see a pretty woman with long dark hair holding a microphone followed by a taller man with a camera on his shoulder.<p>

Ziva's eye's narrowed slightly as she silently made her way in their direction. She hung back and listened as the couple approached the nurses' station.

"Timothy McGee's room please." The woman politely requested before turning to speak with her camera man.

The nurse looked up and caught Ziva's glance as she smoothly slid in front of the woman.

"Agent McGee is not feeling up to visitors." Ziva said smiling sweetly.

Clearly not expecting to see someone materialize in front of her, the woman started but quickly regained her composure matching Ziva's smile she stuck out her hand.

"Amanda Nix, and you are…?"

"Ziva David. Agent McGee is my teammate." She said ignoring the hand. Amanda blinked for half a second before pulling her hand back.

"I see, well we'll only be a minute."

"I'm afraid you will be much shorter. He is not having any visitors."

"Is there a problem Agent David?"

Ziva didn't even flinch but the former Marine startled the woman and she jumped for the second time.

"No problem Gibbs. I was just telling Ms. Nix that McGee would not be able to talk to her tonight."

"Agent McGee is one of the few survivors out of hundreds to come out of the Union Station bombing. I think the public would very much like to hear his take on the situation." Amanda argued.

"His take on the situation," Gibb said stepping intimidatingly toward her, "is he's recovering, he's exhausted and right now he's asleep."

"Well then I'll be back tomorrow."

"No, no you won't." Gibbs said softly.

"You can't hide him forever sir."

"I'm not hiding him now. A little more than 24 hours ago he was trapped under the rubble of a building. Now I think that entitles him to a little break don't you?"

She stared at him for several minutes but if she thought she was going to back him down from protection detail she was sorely mistaken.

"Fine, you may be getting rid of me, but do you realize how many news stations are in this country? Are you going to guard the door? People will want to hear from him."

"When he's ready they will and not before."

She looked back and forth between Ziva and Gibbs as if gauging whether an argument would get her any further. Deciding it wouldn't she turned and marched out, camera man in tow.

The two agents watched her leave. As soon as they disappeared Gibbs pulled out his phone.

"She is right Gibbs. What happens if they try to get in before he is ready?" Ziva asked.

"We protect him until he's ready Ziva." Gibbs said before speaking into the phone.

"Leon, Its Gibbs, I want this hospital closed to the press."

He smirked a little, but when he spoke into the phone it came out a growl.

"Yeah, I know all about the first amendment. You have an agent here who doesn't need to be interrogated in front of a camera right now. Uh-huh. That's all I'm asking for Leon."

He shut the phone and began walking back towards McGee's room.

"He will take care of it yes?" Ziva asked following him.

"Yup for as long as he can."

"What now?"

"Now you go and sleep."

"Gibbs-."

"I'm going home too for a little while. Ducky is staying with McGee. You and I will be back in the morning to talk to Emily."

Ziva nodded. "Very well."

* * *

><p>"Jethro"<p>

"Yeah Ducky?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea. I don't think it would do either of them any good for the child to see Timothy in his current condition."

"I'm not, Navy Yard's on lock down to get into. It will be quicker for them to come here and just as easy to talk. The doctor already said we could use an office."

Ducky nodded as they saw the three approach. Emily smiled shyly and attempted to hide behind her father.

"Don't be that way Emily." Her mother laughingly said. "You remember Agent Gibbs." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Hello Emily. How are you doing?" Gibbs said squatting down and smiling at her.

"Fine."

Gibbs straightened and held his hand out to the girl's father.

"Agent Gibbs. Thank you for coming Mr. Loudon."

Emily's father took his hand and shook it.

"Robert, thank you sir for taking care of my girls." He said sincerely.

"My agent did the hard work, but we're glad we could help. We've got an office here to use."

Ziva, Ducky, Gibbs, Emily and her parents settled in the small room, Emily snuggled in her father's lap.

"Where's Tim?" She asked quietly looking around.

"Emily we talked about this, you might not get to see Agent McGee today." Sheila reminded.

"He's a bit ill, my dear." Ducky said smiling gently. "That's why we were hoping you could tell us what happened in the station after your mother left."

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed as though exhausted and began spilling out her story.

"A lot happened. The terrorists were being really mean except then they let me go to the bathroom, but I heard them talking about killing everyone. Then they were mad and I thought they were going to hurt me but they told us about they were going to poison everybody and I was really scared."

Her lip started to tremble. Gibbs watched with a pang in his heart as her father held her close. He often wished he could hold Kelly like that. He shook the feeling aside knowing at the moment he had another "child" to try and protect from his own self accusation.

"That does sound scary Emily. Why don't you tell us what happened when you and Tim escaped." Ducky began.

"Ok."

"How did you know where to get out?" Gibbs asked.

"Mr. Ben worked at the station for a long long time. He was telling us all these stories and then Tim asked him if there was any way out that the bad guys might not know about."

Gibbs nodded encouraging her to continue.

"So Mr. Ben told us about the hall leading to the ticket office."

"Why didn't Ben go with you when you left?" Gibbs asked carefully.

"He was a distraction."

"How did he and Tim decided who was going to distract?"

"They argued about it." She said matter of factly.

"An argument my dear?" Ducky asked.

"Uh-huh. Mr. Ben was telling Tim the way out through a secret passage way. Then Tim said he would distract the bad guys while Mr. Ben and me got out. Then Mr. Ben said no he was going to stay and me and Tim would get out. He said Tim would be able to get out and move stuff and he might not be able to, but Tim said he wasn't going to leave him."

She leaned forward.

"Tim got really mad at Mr. Ben and said he was handcuffed to the darn chair." She looked at her parents then back to Gibbs and leaned in to whispered conspiratorially "Cept he didn't say darn."

Ziva hid her smile in her hand and Gibbs smirked.

"Got it."

"So then we looked for something to pick the lock with and found some metal. Mr. Ben picked the lock and we waited for the bad man to pass so we could leave after that. Tim and Mr. Ben argued some more about who would leave and who would stay. Mr. Ben kept telling Tim that he needed to leave. So we finally did. Tim told Mr. Ben that he would come back though."

"Is that's why Timothy didn't get to the outside with you?" Ducky asked.

"He couldn't fit through the hole and he said he had to go back for Mr. Ben. I was scared but he made me leave."

Ziva had been very quiet, but now she smiled warmly at the child.

"You're a very brave girl Emily." She said.

Emily blushed.

"Thank you. Mom said the bomb hurt Tim. Did it hurt him a lot? Will he be ok?" She looked so crestfallen Ducky rushed to explain lest she suffer the same fate as McGee.

"Its not your fault, child. Sometimes things happen we can't control."

"I know."

Ducky was surprised at the confidence in her voice. She continued.

"Tim told me that no matter what happened none of this was my fault and even if I tried my best bad things might still happened. But he said he didn't want me to blame myself because it wasn't my fault. No matter what."

Ducky smiled slowly. "He told you that?"

"Yes sir."

Ducky's smile got a little wider and he turned.

"Jethro, I think perhaps my earlier objection as to old friends meeting was a little short sighted."

Gibbs raised his eyebrow.

"Why don't I check and make sure Timothy is awake and then maybe Emily can see him for a bit." Ducky waggled his finger at Emily playfully. "As long as you promise not to tire him my dear."

"No sir, I won't. I promise!" She exclaimed eagerly.

* * *

><p>Tony leaned forward as his friend slowly awoke. He had opted to stay in McGee's room while Gibbs and Ziva interviewed Emily. He was hoping to get a change to talk to his partner since he had not gotten a chance to since the ambulance ride.<p>

"Hey buddy." He said trying to get the green eyes to focus on him.

"Hey Tony." Tim said softly. At least Tim looked better. The oxygen mask had been replaced with a nasal canal and the antibiotics seemed to be helping the fever.

"What's shakin'?"

"Not much." Tim said sadly.

"Hey, I brought some movies." Tony said reaching in his backpack and extracting some DVDs.

"Tony, I'm not in the mood."

Tim felt ashamed when Tony's face fell and he got quiet.

"Tony I'm sorry. I just…I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel and until I get it sorted out everything is…I don't know."

"What do you mean how you're supposed to feel Probie? I don't think there's any obligation to feelings. You feel how you feel and that's it."

"Everyone says I shouldn't feel guilty and yet…I do. Somebody died because of me."

"Tim." Tony said serisouly. "Not one single person died because of you. A lot of people lived because of you, but you don't get to take responsibility of any deaths, the terrorist did that and only them. Its like this movie-."

"Tony please don't. In movies everyone is saved and comes back alive. They end happy."

Tony smiled but there was no happiness in his eyes.

"See McGee this is where you are sorely lacking in cinema history."

Tim looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"Movies are made every day where not everyone comes back. People die as heroes and that gives us a good feeling and you know why?"

Tim swallowed thickly and shook his head.

"Because they remind us that some people care more about other things than their own lives. They care about ideals or causes or people. They see the bigger picture, they see that some things are worth dying for. Thos are my favorite movies Probie. We see a lot of bad things and those films remind me that some people are still willing to sacrifice, give everything."

"I went back for him and you know what I saw?" Tim asked his voice low with emotion.

"What'd you see?" Tony asked softly placing his hand on his friend's arm.

"He was laying there," he faltered, "dead, but he had a gun in his hand and a few feet away one of the terrorists was dead too. He had somehow wrestled the gun away and killed him, I guess right before they shot him."

"That's cause he was one of those people I was talking about Tim, willing to give himself for the greater good. So were you when you offered yourself for those hostages. Just because you lived doesn't make you less of a hero. You each did what you had to do and I'll tell you McGee your probably the bravest person I know."

Tim looked in his eyes and found nothing but sincerity.

"Thank Tony."

"So do you want me to bring in one of those movies or a really really happy sappy one?"

"Let's go with happy and sappy." Tim laughed slightly.

"Rock Hudson and Doris Day it is."

Tim grinned.

"Excuse me gentlemen." Ducky said entering the room. "How are you feeling Timothy?"

"Not too bad Ducky, still can't feel my legs. " He said resignedly.

"The doctor expects tonight or tomorrow morning is when feeling should return so we will know then lad. However that's not why I'm here."

"What's up Ducky?" Tony asked.

Ducky smiled slowly.

"I came to see if Timothy would be up to a visitor."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter might be a little while (I know, as if I didn't take enough time already). My two little nieces who are 2 and 1 month will be visiting for a few days and they take quite a bit of attention. :)<strong>

**If you're not an aunt (or uncle), I highly recommend it, most fun thing in the world. :)**

**Not to mention I'm still deciding how I want this to end. Correction I know how I want it to end, now I just have to figure out how to get it there. I'm pretty sure there will be at least two more chapters and I don't know beyond that. Thanks for hanging with me. Let me know what you think!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks everybody for the reviews and alerts. They are wonderful! :)**

**Thanks shialuvr222 for the beta job. I appreciate someone catching my mistakes. Shouldn't have many chapters left, two at the most.**

* * *

><p>"Who Ducky?" Tim asked cautiously.<p>

"A lovely young lady." Ducky smiled.

Tony started grinning.

"Way to go, Probie"

"Who Ducky?" Tim asked again.

"Emily."

"No, no! Ducky." Tim said panicking. "I can't…she…she can't see me like…"

"Why not lad? Are you afraid she will feel guilt over something she had not control over?" Ducky asked innocently.

The look on McGee's face told him he had hit the nail on the head.

"I thought as much. Of course I won't force you, but she very much wants to see you Timothy."

"You didn't tell her about...about my legs? That I might not walk again?"

"Of course not, because I for one do not believe it."

Tim was quiet and for a few moments only the beep of machines filled the room.

"Is she ok?" Tim asked quietly.

Ducky searched his eyes and saw the deep apprehension. Knowing what he feared for Emily, the same fate he was suffering himself, it made the doctor's heart light to be able to calm those anxieties.

"She is remarkably well. She received some very wise advice."

"What'd ya mean Ducky?" Tony asked.

"Someone had the foresight to assure her that no matter what happened that day it was not her fault."

Tony leaned back and grinned at McGee.

"You do that Probie?"

"Yes." Tim said quietly.

"It was good enough for her, why not you?" Ducky inquired.

Tim groaned. "I'm a grown man Ducky I should have done better."

"Yes, well we can discuss that later. The question currently is would you, whom I've always considered a gentleman, turn away a young lady who is anxious to see you?"

Tim blushed as Tony laughed.

"Ok Ducky. I would like to see her."

"Very good." Ducky smiled. "I'll be right back."

"Alright McCharmer, let's get you looking presentable, wouldn't want to disappoint."

Tim smiled despite himself.

* * *

><p>Emily held tightly to her mother's hand suddenly afraid as they stood outside the door to the hospital room.<p>

"Is he ok?" She asked so softly Ducky almost didn't hear her. He leaned down.

"He was a bit banged up my dear, but he is much better."

"Just be gentle Emily you can't jump on him." Sheila reminded.

"Are we ready in here gentleman?" Ducky asked pushing on the door slightly.

"Ready Freddy, Dr. Spaghetti." Came Tony's cheery voice

Emily laughed as she walked into the room. "That doesn't rhyme!"

She stopped laughing when she got through the doorway and caught sight of her friend and protector sitting up in a hospital bed. As Tim smiled at her, Gibbs didn't resist the urge to smile himself. This was the happiest his agent had been since he woke up.

"Hey Emily. Hi Mrs. Loudon." Tim said.

"Hello." Sheila said smiling. "You're not looking too bad. I don't think we knew what to expect. Right Em?" She asked guiding the girl forward as she looked back. "Tim, this is my husband Robert."

The man nodded. "I appreciate you're looking after these two. Not sure what I would have done without them."

Tim smiled. "It was my pleasure sir."

Emily had quietly made her way to the side of Tim's bed and put her hand on the cast at his elbow.

"Are you ok?" Her eyes wide.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be ok." He assured smiling encouragingly at her.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." She said in the same quiet voice

"Not your fault. I'm really proud of you Emily. Agent Gibbs told me you told him everything they needed to know."

She nodded emphatically. "I tried real hard and I remembered everything you told me!"

"Good girl. Come over here and sit." He said patting the bed on his left side. She walked over and Tony helped her up careful to avoid McGee's legs.

The discomfort having passed Emily started talking, telling the group, mostly Tim, a detailed description of all she had done since he last saw her.

"…they really really missed me. But I gave them all hugs when I got home." She said stopping to draw a breath.

"We weren't gone that long honey." Robert reminded with a smile. "The cats couldn't have missed you too much."

"Uh-huh! They knew something was wrong." She looked at Tim as if trying to convince him. "They always know."

He grinned. "I'm sure they do."

Emily suddenly got serious and leaned forward almost nose to nose with Tim.

"Are you tired?"

"Um, I-."

"Dr. Mallard said we couldn't make you tired. Actually he said we could visit you as long as we promised 'not to tire him my dear'" She said in her best Scottish impersonation.

"Emily Grace!" Sheila scolded turning red as her father just shook his head hiding his smile in his hand.

The girl ducked her head looking properly chastised. "Well he did." She defended.

Ducky laughed from the corner of the room. "Indeed I do. Well remembered."

Emily smiled at Tim again. "Would I hurt you if I hugged you?"

"No, you wouldn't." He said drawing her close with one arm.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Tim swallowed thickly and more than a few of the onlooker attempted to brink away tears that threatened.

As Emily pulled away she kissed him on the cheek and began to climb down immediately starting to chatter again.

"I'll come back and make you a card or bring you soup. What kind of soup do you like?"

"A card will be fine, Emily." He said laughing a little.

"Ok."

Robert ushered his wife and daughter out and then stuck his head back into the room

"Agent McGee?"

"Yes sir?"

"Congratulations, you're her first crush." He said grinning.

Everyone in the room laughed as Tim's ears turned red.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry people, not very long. It was so long since I put something but and I haven't been very inspired. Plus it's been crazy at work and next week will only be worse. :( I know you all have a new season of NCIS to look forward too on Tuesday but thanks for reading my story just the same. :)<strong>

**Please review, it make me smile! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi, people sorry for the long time between updates. The only explanation I have for why this has taken so long is when I'm out running errands or at work I'm compelled to write and then I get home and the urge leaves.**

**It could also have to do with the fact that I worked over 50 hours at work this week. :( I do like to be busy though so it wasn't too bad.**

**Thanks shialuvr222 for the beta job! :)**

**Thanks everybody so much for the reviews. I appreciate you taking the time. :)**

* * *

><p>Ziva accompanied the Loudons out to the lobby leaving Tim, Gibbs, Ducky, and Tony in silence. Tim appeared lost in thought absently twisting the sheets under his left hand.<p>

"Timothy, you realize if you hadn't left that gentleman and escaped when you did, that child would probably be dead." Ducky said bluntly breaking the silence causing Tim's head to snap up. He stared but didn't say anything.

"After everything you told me and then Emily's account," Ducky continued more gently, "it's obvious he never would have been able to successfully get himself or the girl out."

After several minutes Tim nodded very slowly.

"I know." He said quietly. "I know logically that that's right. I knew it then. He was making too much sense to argue. I just didn't want it to end that way."

"No one did Tim. Hell no one wanted it to even begin." Gibbs said. "But if you hadn't gotten Emily out, we wouldn't have found out about their plan for the water facility."

"How much STX was there?" Tim asked softly.

"Two thousand gallons." He replied without hesitation. "Fornell guessed it was enough to wipe out the whole eastern seaboard."

"And more." McGee said visibly shuddering.

"You stopped that McGee that's what you need to keep telling yourself." Tony chimed in.

Tim nodded again and they lapsed into silence one more.

"I wasn't like this at first Boss." Tim said suddenly after a few minutes.

Gibbs' raised eyebrow prompted him to continue.

"I was actually fairly calm, calmer than I would have thought. I mean I was pretty terrified at several point during the whole situation," he said beginning to ramble causing Tony to smile just a little, "but I handled it…well much better than I am now. Why am I suddenly falling apart?"

"Adrenaline rush is over. Everything is finally catching up, you have time to think." Gibbs said placing a hand on his arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It caught up with me before this." Tim said. "When I saw him laying there dead with the gun in his hand-." He shook his head sadly.

"McGee do you know what the military teaches you?" Gibbs interrupted. McGee stopped talking and waited for him to continue. "Not just the military, FLETC, police academy, all of it."

"What?" He asked cautiously.

"They teach you to sacrifice. They condition you to the point that giving yourself for others is second nature. Your country, partners, civilians, anything for the greater good. What they don't teach you is how to be on the receiving end of that."

"That will be the hardest part for you to accept. I have no doubt that you didn't think twice about offering yourself up, twice. First for the group and then for Ben and Emily, but sometime you have to accept that a sacrifice has been made for you. You don't forget, it's always with you, but that's what makes us better. Hey, look at me."

Tim had dropped his head during the speech but now looked up at the command.

"I'm here for you, so is your team and your family." Gibbs said firmly wanting to leave no room for doubt.

Tim nodded then stopped.

"Where's Sarah?"

"She went to grab some stuff from her apartment and then she was going to pick up your parents from the airport."

"My parents?"

"Yup, on their way in Probie, remember Sarah called them?" Tony said thankful the subject had been changed to something less emotional for his friend until he suddenly noticed the worried look flash in the young man's eyes.

"Problem?" Gibbs asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ummm…"

"Spit it out McGee."

"Well, my mom…"

* * *

><p>"Baby, oh my goodness. Oh my baby." The petite woman flitted from one side of the bed to the other tittering and straightening bed sheets.<p>

Anyone looking in on the situation probably supposed this was the customary reaction. Laura McGee was actually very level headed in the midst of crisis. Being a Navy wife and therefore alone much of the time had conditioned her for that. Still maternal instinct took over at times like this and she had never gotten use to seeing one of her children hurt or in pain.

"I'm fine mom." Tim assured her for the fifth time since she had arrived twenty minutes ago.

"I will have to say I'm so glad I wasn't in the country for this. I don't think my heart could have stood that." She continued still moving about making sure her son was as comfortable as possible.

"Yeah, I know mom." Tim sighed.

He half smiled observing an older man standing a few feet back and shifting nervously from one foot to the other. His dad had always been extremely uncomfortable in hospitals and made every effort to avoid them.

Tim remembered when he was sixteen and had his wreck; he'd awakened at the hospital to a scene much like this. Taking pity on his father he'd suggested the elder McGee didn't have to stay. Michael was shocked at first and then almost angry at Tim for assuming he wouldn't be there for his son. After a few more minutes Michael stepped to his wife side and gently took her elbow.

"Laura why don't you go get some coffee. I'll make sure the boy doesn't disappear into thin air." Tim bit back a laugh while his mom rolled her eyes. "Seriously you haven't sat down since we got off the plane."

"I was on the plane for 9 hours…sitting." She reminded.

"Uh-huh." He said guiding her to the door and opening it to propel her out. "Bring me back a Snickers." He said after her.

He turned back toward Tim as the door opened again and Laura stuck her head back in.

"Just so you two don't think you pulling a fast one on me. I want to you to know that I know. Tim's telling me he's fine and trying to get me to calm down. But as so as I leave Tim will tell you how he actually feels." Laura said indignantly.

"Yes ma'am, probably so." His dad said with a straight face. "You know how kids are these days. Shut that door behind you please."

Laura left mumbling. Michael smiled a little before sitting down. He cocked his head and studied his son.

"How you doing kid?"

Tim gave him a lopsided grin.

"Better than I was sir."

"I don't imagine that took lot of improvement." Michael chuckled.

"No, not really." Tim confirmed.

Michael continued to scrutinize him and Tim knew the interrogation wasn't over. His dad would get to the point quickly though.

"Agent Gibbs said you were…upset. Didn't say exactly why."

Tim didn't say anything for a few minutes while gathering his thoughts. He finally swallowed and looked up at his father.

"I left a man to die Dad. He-his information saved me and a little girl. He killed one of the terrorists, but I left him and you know the worst part?"

"What?" His father asked patiently.

"I didn't have a choice. There wasn't a damn thing I could have done." He said surprised to feel anger, not at himself but at Habib and Altair and their pointless cause and hate. _Maybe this is good, healthy, to let them be the focus of my anger. _He thought almost smiling when he realized he sounded like Ducky.

"He was going to die no matter what happened, no matter what I did." Tim finished sadly.

Michael sighed.

"I know son. I had hoped when you didn't join the Navy you'd be spared seeing things like that, but then law enforcement is just as bad." Michael said shaking his head. "Tim…I'm really proud of you. I don't just mean about this, you and your life. I think-."

He stopped and stood coming over to his bedside. Tim knew his father wasn't good expressing how he felt with words. He also usually wasn't physically affectionate either, but now he sat on the side of the bed and reached forward to pull his son into a hug.

"I love you and I'm proud of you." He whispered in his ear.

Tim swallowed and let a tear escape and he gripped his father tightly.

"I love you too Dad."

They stayed that way for only a moment longer but Tim could feel his dad's heart beating frantically. He felt a pang at how afraid his parents must have been. He kicked himself for only focusing on his own problems. The team, his friends, had been worried too. He had forgotten to thank them for all they had done.

Michael let go and walked back toward his seat gently tapping his son's foot on the way. He sat down and motioned toward Tim's still legs.

"What the status?"

"Just wait is what they tell me." Tim sighed.

"You know a lot of recovery has to do with a state of mind. Be positive and patient, we're all here to help, not going anywhere."

Tim smiled.

"You sound like Ducky and Gibbs."

"Good, then you've heard it." Michael said satisfied.

"Oh yeah."

* * *

><p>Tim spent the rest of the day surrounded by his family and team. He fell asleep early exhausted by all that had happened but more peaceful than he had been in days.<p>

He woke to a funny sensation he couldn't quite place. The lights in his room were dimmed and outside his window it was dark. His parents, Sarah and Abby were all asleep in various chairs in the room. He smiled before the sensation hit him again, more painful this time. Concentrating hard he realized it was a tingling in his legs and back. His jaw dropped as he looked down at the end of the bed. Ever so slightly the sheets coving his feet twitched.

* * *

><p><strong>One more chapter to go! I will miss the story; it has been the easiest to write so far! You guys have been so awesome too. I treasure the reviews, they truly brighten my day. :)<strong>

**Thank you so much, please let me know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Wow I really thought this last chapter would go quicker. Sorry for the wait. **

**Thank you, thank you everyone for reading and reviewing and alerting. Your comments have been so encouraging and the support humbling. They never fail to make my day and bring a smile to my face. :)**

**Thank you so very much shialuvr222 for your beta job. You have always been so supportive and helpful and I can't express my gratitude. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Four months later<strong>

Tony dropped his backpack at his desk and sat down as surreptitiously as he could.

"Nice of you to join us DiNozzo."

Ziva smirked as Tony winced.

"Sorry Boss, traffic was pretty bad."

He glanced to his right.

"Hey, McGeek's not here either." He said observing the empty desk and dark computer screen.

Gibbs didn't say anything.

"He is coming back today right?" Tony probed anxiously. "First day of desk duty? Did he need someone to pick him up? I can go get-."

"Calm down Tony. Abby is bringing McGee in." Ziva said smiling. "They had to stop and get some paper work first, that is probably why they are not here."

* * *

><p>It had been a long process. The feeling returning to his legs had only been half the battle. There were still multiple breaks that had to heal and kept McGee off his feet for several weeks. By the time he was able to start physical therapy his other injuries had healed so that he could concentrate on strengthening his legs enough to walk after all the braces were removed.<p>

McGee found out the day he was moved to the rehabilitation facility that he was to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his 'selfless contribution to the protection of the lives of the citizens of the United States of America.'

He had vigorously protested until his father reminded him that compliments should be received in the spirit they are given. It would devalue the lives of those he had saved to refuse the honor. Tim humbly decided to accept. There would be a ceremony for award but Tim had requested it not occur until he was back on his feet.

Tim's parents stayed most of their son's recovery. Laura and Michael alternated going home to check on things before coming right back. They had left the day before Tim was to return to work upon his insistence that he was and would be fine. The team of course regularly visited and Fornell even stopped a few times.

Emily also visited several more times and always managed to make Tim laugh no matter how tough the day had been. The most memorable visit being when she was somehow able to sneak one of her cats in the rehab facility without her mother's knowledge to 'cheer him up'. The staff had spent a good deal of time tracking down the rightfully confused and irritated feline. Tim still smiled at the thought of the look on Sheila's face when the cat was literally let out of the bag.

A week after that Gibbs stopped by and told McGee that he had been contacted by Janie Westbrook, Ben's daughter.

"How are they?" Tim asked somberly.

"Seemed fine." Gibbs said. "Wanted to see if you were up to a visit."

The alarmed look that passed across his agent's face caused him to lean forward.

"Hey, you can say no, but it sounded like they really wanted to talk to you."

"Are they mad?"

Gibbs gave him a look and Tim turned away.

"Sorry, I've been talking to the shrink but it's different. These are his children, if anyone's going to blame me it will be them."

"Then they would be wrong. Yes, grief might cause them to lash out at someone who doesn't deserve it but this lady didn't sound like that type."

Tim still looked unsure.

"You don't have to, no one will make you, but you need to remember you were the last person to see her father alive. She might just want to know about that, about him." Gibbs said.

Tim nodded slowly. "He deserved that." He said softly almost to himself. "He deserves for his family to know."

Tim nervously awaited their visit but once Janie and her brother Mark arrived it didn't take long for his anxiety to recede. Ben's children were just as gracious and kind as their father had been. They sat with Tim for several hours, telling stories of their family and going to visit their father at Grand Central Station.

Janie started to tear up when she described her mother's death a few years ago.

"I'm surprised that didn't kill Daddy. He was so…"

"He was ready to go and be with Mom." Mark said simply. "I think the only thing that really kept him going was us and our kids." Janie nodded in agreement

There was a few moment of silence between the three until Tim cleared his throat

"He talked about you guys, his family; he was so proud and happy." Tim said sincerely. "I want you to know it was an honor to know him. I know it wasn't long, but…I don't know it seems like…in situations like that you find out who people really are, even if you only know them a few hours. He was one of the bravest men I've ever had the privilege of meeting."

The visit didn't last much longer but Tim felt as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't realized he was still carrying around so much guilt and anxiety.

He sighed and leaned back in the char in his room. Now he just had to focus on his legs getting enough strength back to be allowed back at work.

* * *

><p>The elevator ding pulled Tony out of his thoughts.<p>

"Probie!"

McGee grinned as he slowing walked to the bullpen, limping slightly with Abby bouncing along beside him. The doctor was confident there would be no lingering issues for the young man, still it would be a couple of more weeks before he was back out in the field.

"Hey guys." He said smiling brightly. "What's going on?"

Ziva moved first to wrap him into a hug.

"We are happy to have you back McGee."

"We sure are." Tony said grinning mischievously as his picked up a stack of folders on the corner of his desk.

"We saved your paper work. Didn't want you to feel like you'd been replaced."

"DiNozzo, that's your paper work." Gibbs said not looking up. "And I expect it by the end of the day."

"Uh, of course Boss, only kidding."

Gibbs hid his smile as he glanced up at his returning agent.

"You're late McGee."

"Won't happen again Boss." McGee said happily having caught the original smile when he walked into the bullpen.

Gibbs smirked. Abby continued to hover until McGee got to this desk and set his back pack down.

"I'm so sorry I didn't decorate for your welcome back day. I was really really busy last week, but I was going to stay last night and do it and I remembered that I hadn't even bought anything and it really wouldn't have done any good because the last time I tried to decorate a desk that really creepy night janitor took it all down. Then I thought I could just put a note that says I can kill you without-."

"Abby it's fine thank you." McGee interrupted just so she could breathe. "I don't need anything. I'm just happy to be back."

He kissed her forehead before assuring her he would be fine if she went back to her lab. It was quiet once more while Tim began trying to catch up on paperwork. He missed the eyes of his team mates watching him and the smiles they exchanged back and forth.

Forty-five minutes later McGee's head shot up.

"Aww, crap."

"Problem McGee?" Gibbs asked one eyebrow raised.

McGee looked up sheepishly

"Umm…my typewriter…I just remembered it's still in the shop. I dropped it off that day and I never…" He trailed off at the look on Gibb's face before glancing at Tony who was looking at him incredulously.

Ziva started to giggle causing the corners of Tony's mouth to turn up before she started outright laughing. It only took a moment for it to catch Tony too and his laugher could be heard throughout the bullpen.

Gibbs chuckled thankful for the hundredth time since that morning that his team was whole again.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you again for reading. I appreciate you all coming on this journey with me. The support has been so overwhelming and kind. :)<strong>

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**I have an idea for another story but my dad is not doing very well so be a while before I get it thought out enough to write it.**

**God Bless!**


End file.
